

































































oo 






. 



































































































' 
























u> 

















































































/ft 




Albert James Pickett. 



HISTORY 



OF 



ALABAMA 

AND INCIDENTALLY OF 

GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI 

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 

BY 

ALBERT JAMES PICKETT. 



REPUBLISHED BY 

ROBERT C. RANDOLPH, 

OF SHEFFIELD, ALA. 
1896. 



v>w^ 



:-\ 



■ "''' ■'"•" , to bhi ao longrtu, by a.,.,,^. Jambi Piokott, on the 

fftU January, L801, i Oltrk'i on of tbe Dlitriol Ooui lit United si.,.. 

foi i (•'■ Middle Dlitriol ol Uabatni 

M LTT <• v v LI, 
Ol»rn i . s. n c m /> ,,/ j/,, 

UOPYRIOHT 1878 11 v Mum. Sauaii S. I'm KBT1 



rnt%» or 

K00KHI3 A 90N, 

1111,-minhham 



DEDICATION. 



As ;i token ol inv siiurir esteem, ami ol (lie Iiij-.Ii respect I (eel lor then 

talents and character, as well as in consideration <>i the 

deep Interest which tii<-v have taken In my 

literary enterprises, 

I DBDICA1 B hum. V( >i UMBS l'< > 

BENJAMIN PITZPATRICK, JOHN ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, 

Ainiii i: i i: INCEH Hopkins, THOMAS JAME8 JUDOS 
WILLIAM LOWNDES YANCEY, EDMUND BTROTHBB DARGAN, 

FRANCIS BUOBEE, THADDEU8 BANFORD, 
WILLIAM PARI8B CHILTON, Bl RWELL BOYKIN, 

Joshua LANIER MARTIN, LLEXANDEB BOWIE, BASIL MANLY, 
si i, \s PARBONB, NIOHOLAB DAVIS AND CLEMENT 0. CLAY, JB , 

01 MAMA MA : 



OEORGE M.TROUP AND JOHN M. BERRIEN, 

Of 0B0BO1 I 



.ioiin II V. CLAIBORNE AND JOHN w monk i n 
• pi KIIIIMIPPI : 



LESLIE a. THOMPSON AND WALKBB ANDERSON, 

<>i i i.oi;ii>A : 



CHARLES OAYARRH LND SAMUEL F. WILSON, 

HI I. 'il hIANA : 



DANIEL GRAHAM, 

OF tinn i DStl I 



ARTHUB P. HAYNE, FRANCIS W, PICKENS, 

.1 \ mi.- ii BAMMOND, w GILMORE BIMS, RICHARD 7EAD0N, 

MITCHELL KING and HENRY w. CONNER, 

< LBOLINA : 

A. J. I'M, KM I 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER. PAGE. 

Preface 

I. De Soto in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi 17 

II. The Aborigines of Alabama and the Surrounding States.. 58 

III. The Modern Indian of Alabama, Georgia ami Mississippi. 74 

IV. Mobilians, Chatots, Thomes and Tensas I is 

V. The Chootaws and Chiokasaws 123 

VI. The Cherokees 189 

VII. Ancient Mounds and Fortifications in Alabama 14s 

VIII. Tlif French in Alabama and Mississippi 100 

IX. The Colony of Louisiana Granted to Crozat 183 

\. The India or Mississippi Company 20*.i 

\ I. Terrible Massacre at Natchez 286 

XII. The English] in Georgia 258 

XIII. Jesuit 1'iiests or Missionaries 270 

X I V. The French Battles upon the Tombigby 27'.) 

X V. Bienville Leaves the Colony — His Character 299 

xyi. Horrible Death of Beaudrot and the Swiss Soldiers 304 

XVII. Bossu's Visits to the French Forts upon the Alabama and 

Tombigby Rivers 809 



6 HISTORY <>K ALABAMA. 

Will. The Occupation Of Alabama and Mississippi by the 

English 319 

XIX. Hardships of the Early Emigrants 831 

X X. Journey of Bartram through Alabama 838 

XXI. An Account of the McGillivray Family — The Revolu- 
tionary War 342 

XXII. Extreme Perils and Sufferings of the Natchez Refugees. . 852 

xxiii. The Spaniards in Alabama and Mississippi 365 

XXIV. Bloody Scenes in Alabama and Georgia 378 

XXV. The Deep Intrigues of McGillivray 385 

XXVI. The First Yazoo Sale— Bowles, the Freebooter 408 

XXVII. Singular Inhabitants of Alabama 416 

XX VI II. Death of McGillivray— Bloody Scenes 426 

XXIX. The French Minister, Genet— His Designs Upon the 

Southwest 438 

XXX. The Second Yazoo Sale 443 

XXXI. The Americans in Alabama and Mississippi 460 

XXXII. Governor Troup, or the Mcintosh Family — Incidents in 

the Mississippi Territory 470 

X X X 1 1 1. The Arrest, of Aaron Burr in Alabama 488 

XXXIV. St. Stephens — Huntsville — Indian Commerce — Kemper 

Expeditions 503 

XXXV. Tecumseh— Civil War Among the Creeks 510 

XXXVI. Battle of Burnt Corn — Arrival of Gen. Claiborne's Army . . 521 

XXX V II. Terrible Massacre at Fort Mims 528 

XXX\ III. Daring of lleaton— Bloody Scenes — Gainesand the Choc- 
taws T)44 



CONTENTS. < 



XXXIX. Battles of Tallaseliatchie, Talladega and Auttose 52 2 

X \j. Remarkable Canoe Fight — Battle of Holy Ground — March 

to Cahaba Old Towns 560 

X Li. Battles of Emuckfau, Enitachopco and Calebee 57fl 

XLU. Battle of the Horse-Shoe — Weatherford Surrenders Him- 
self at Fort Jackson 588 

XL! II. Treaty of Fort Jackson — Attack upon Mobile Point — 

March upon Tuscaloosa : 599 

XI J V. The British Take Mobile Point— Peace Declared— The 

Alabama Territory 012 

XLY. Modern French Colony in Alabama, or the Vine and 

Olive Company 023 

XLVI. Last Territorial Legislature— State Convention <;:H 

XLVII. The First Legislature of the State of Alabama — Governor 

Bibb 660 



PREFACE. 

In submitting my first book to the public, I refrain from 
making apologies in its behalf, and shall only briefly allude to my 
labors, in order to show how strenuously I have endeavored to 
insure its authenticity. I have sought materials for a correct 
history of my country, wherever they were to be procured, 
whether in Europe or America, and without regard to cost or 

trouble. All the Atlantic States have Historical Societies, and 
books and manuscripts relating to those States have been col- 
lected. In addition to this, agents have been sent to Europe by 
different Legislatures, who have transcribed the colonial records 
which relate to their history. I have had none of these aids. I 
have been compelled to hunt up and buy books and manuscripts 
connected with the history of Alabama, and to collect oral infor- 
mation in all directions. I rejoice, however, to know that a 
Historical Society has recently been formed at Tuscaloosa by 
some literary gentlemen, and it gives me pleasure to reflect that 
the authors who may appear after my day, will not he subjected 
to the labor which it has been my lot to undergo. Believing that 
the historian ought to be the most conscientious of men, writing, 
as he does, not only for the present age but for posterity, I have 
endeavored to divest myself of all prejudices, and to speak the 
truth in all cases. If it should be found, by the most scrutiniz- 
ing reader, that any of my statements are incorrect, let me say 
in advance, that when I penned those statements I believed them 

9 



10 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

to be true. So anxious have I been to record each incident as it 
really occurred, that upon several occasions I have traveled over 
four hundred miles to learn merely a few facts. 

About four years since, feeling impressed with the fact that 
it was the duty of every man to make himself, in some way, use- 
ful to his race, I looked around in search of some object, in the 
pursuit of which I could benefit my fellow-citizens ; for, although 
much interested in agriculture, that did not occupy one-fourth of 
my time. Having no taste for politics, and never having studied 
a profession, I determined to write a History. I thought it 
would serve to amuse my leisure hours, but it has been the hard- 
est work of my life. While exhausted by the labor of reconcil- 
ing the statements of old authors, toiling over old French and 
Spanish manuscripts, traveling through Florida, Alabama and 
Mississippi for information, and corresponding with persons in 
Europe and elsewhere for facts, I have sometimes almost re- 
solved to abandon the attempt to prepare a History of my 
State. 

In reference to that portion of the work which relates to the 
Indians, I will state that my father removed from Anson county, 
North Carolina, and carried me to the wilds of the "Alabama 
Territory," in 1818, when I was a boy but eight years of age. 
He established a trading-house in connection with his plantation, 
in the present county of Autauga. During my youthful days, I 
was accustomed to be much with the Creek Indians— hundreds 
of whom came almost daily to the trading-house. For twenty 
years I frequently visited the Creek nation. Their green coin 
dances, ball plays, war ceremonies, and manners and customs, 
are all fresh in my recollection. In my intercourse with them I 



PREFACE. 1 1 



was thrown into the company of many old white men, called 
"Indian countrymen," who had for years conducted a commerce 
with them. Some of these men had come to the Creek nation 
before the revolutionary war, and others being tories, had fled to 
it during the war, and after it, to escape from whig persecution. 
They were unquestionably the shrewdest and most interesting 
men with whom I ever conversed. Generally of Scotch descent, 
many of them were men of some education. All of them were 
married to Indian wives, and some of them had intelligent and 
handsome children. From these Indian countrymen I learned 
much concerning the manners and customs of the Creeks, with 
whom they had been so long associated, and more particularly 
with regard to the commerce which they carried on with them. 
In addition to this, I often conversed with the Chiefs while they 
were seated in the shades of the spreading mulberry and walnut, 
upon the banks of the beautiful Tallapoosa. As they leisurely 
smoked their pipes, some of them related to me the traditions of 
their country. I occasionally saw Choctaw and Cherokee trad- 
ers, and learned much from them. I had no particular object in 
view at that time, except the gratification of a curiosity, which 
led me for my own satisfaction alone, to learn something of the 
early history of Alabama. 

In relation to the invasion of Alabama by De Soto, which is 
related in the first chapter of this work, I have derived much 
information in regard to the route of that earliest discoverer 
from statements of General McGillivray, a Creek of mixed blood, 
who ruled this country with eminent ability from 1776 to 1793. 
I have perused the manuscript history of the Creeks by Stiggins, 
a half-breed, who also received some particulars of the route of 



12 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

De Soto during his boyhood from the lips of the oldest Indians. 
My library contains many old Spanish and French maps, with 
the towns through which De Soto passed correctly laid down. 
The sites of many of these are familiar to the present population. 
Besides all these, I have procured from England and France 
three journals of De Soto's expedition. 

One of these journals was written by a cavalier of the expe- 
dition, who was a native of Elvas, in Portugal. He finished his 
narrative on the 10th February, 1557, in the city of Evora, and 
it was printed in the house of Andrew de Burgos, printer and 
gentleman of the Lord Cardinal and the Infanta. It was trans- 
lated into English by Richard Hakluyt in 1609. and is to be 
found in the supplementary volume of his voyages and discov- 
eries ; London, 1812. It is also published at length in the His- 
torical Collections of Peter Force, of Washington City. 

Another journal of the expedition was written by the Inca 
Garcellasso de la Vega, a Peruvian by birth and a native of the 
city of Cuzco. His father was a Spaniard of noble blood, and his 
mother the sister of Capac, one of the Indian sovereigns of Peru. 
Garcellasso was a distinguished writer of that age. He had 
heard of the remarkable invasion of Florida by De Soto, *ind he 
applied himself diligently to obtain the facts. He found out an 
intelligent cavalier of that expedition, with whom he had minute 
conversations of all the particulars of lt^.. In addition to this, 
journals were placed in his hands written in the camp of De 
Soto — one by Alonzo de Carmona, a native of the town of Priego, 
and the other by Juan Coles, a native of Zafra. Garcellasso pub- 
lished his work at an early period in Spanish. It has been trans- 
lated into French, but never into English. The copy in our 



PREFACE. 13 



hands is entitled "Histoire de la Conquete de la Floride ou rela- 
tion, de ce qui s'est passe dans la decouverte de ce pais, par Fer- 
dinand De Soto, Composee en Espagnol, par L'Inca Garcellasso 
de la Vega, et traduite en Francois, par Sr. Pierre Richelet, en 
deux tomes; A. Leide : 1731." 

I have still another journal, and the last one, of the expedi- 
tion of De Soto. It was written by Biedma, who accompanied 
De Soto as his commissary. The journal is entitled, " Relation 
de ce qui arriva pendant le voyage du Captaine Soto, et details 
sur la nature du pas qu'il parcourut ; par Luis Hernandez de 
Biedma," contained in a volume entitled « Recuil de Pieces sur la, 
Floride," one of a series of " Voyages et memoires originaux pour 
servir a L'Histoire de la decouverte de L'Amerique publies pour 
la premier fois en Francois ; par H. Ternaux-Compans. Paris : 
1841." 

In Biedma there is an interesting letter written by De Soto, 
while he was at Tampa Bay, in Florida, which was addressed to 
some town authorities in Cuba. The journal of Biedma is much 
less in detail than those of the Portuguese Gentleman and Gar- 
cellasso, but agrees with them in the relation of the most im- 
portant occurrences. 

Our own accomplished writer and earliest pioneer in Ala- 
bama history — Alexander B. Meek, of Mobile — has furnished a 
condensed, but well written and graphic account of De Soto's 
expedition, contained in a monthly magazine, entitled "The 
Southron," Tuscaloosa, 1839. He is correct as to the direction 
assumed by the Spaniards over our soil, as well as to the char- 
acter of that extraordinary conquest. 



14 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Theodore Irving, M. A., of New York, has recently issued a 
revised edition of his Conquest of Florida. Its style is easy and 
flowing, when the author journalizes in regard to marches 
through the country, and is exceedingly graphic, when he gives 
us a description of De Soto's battles. As I have closely ex- 
amined the sources from which Mr. Irving has collated his work, 
I am prepared to state that he has related all things as they are 
said to have occurred. For the complimentary terms which Mr. 
Irving has employed in the preface, and also in many of the 
notes of his late edition, in relation to my humble efforts in en- 
deavoring to throw new light upon the expedition of De Soto, I 
beg him to accept my profound acknowledgments. 

There are many gentlemen of talents and distinction, who 
have unselfishly, nobly and generously interested themselves in 
my behalf, while engaged in the arduous labors which are now 
brought to a close. I will name John A. Campbell and George 
N. Stewart, of Mobile ; Alfred Hennen and J. D. B. DeBow, of 
New Orleans ; the Rev. Francis Hawks, of New York ; William 
H. Prescott and Jared Sparks, of Massachusetts ; the Rev. 
William Bacon Stevens, of Philadelphia; W. Gilrnore Simms, of 
South Carolina; and particularly, John H. F. Claiborne, of Missis- 
sippi, who placed in my hands the manuscript papers of his 
father, Gen. F. L. Claiborne, who commanded the southern wing 
of the army, during the Creek war of 1813 and 1814. The son 
has requested me to present the manuscript papers of his father 
as a contribution from him to the Historical Society of Alabama. 
I shall comply with his request upon the first suitable occasion. 
There are many other persons who have manifested an interest 



PREFACE. 15 



in my behalf, to enumerate all of whom, would be extending this 
preface to an unreasonable length. While I omit the mention 
of their names, I shall ever cherish the memory of their atten- 
tions with the most grateful recollections. 

THE AUTHOR. 
May, 1851. 



HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



CHAPTER I. 

De Soto in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. 

The first discovery of Alabama was by Hernando De Soto, a 
native of Spain, and the son of a squire of Xerez of Badajos. 
When a youth he went to Peru, enlisted under Pizarro, and, with 
no property but his sword, won distinguished military reputation. 
Returning to his native country, and making an imposing ap- 
pearance at Court, he was made Governor of Cuba, and Adelan- 
tado of Florida. In the unknown regions of the latter, he re- 
solved to embark his vast wealth in a splendid expedition, de- 
signed to conquer a people whom he believed to possess more 
gold than he had yet beheld in South America. Young men of 
the best blood in Spain and Portugal, sold their houses and their 
vineyards and flocked to his standard. Soon he was 
surrounded by an army of six hundred chosen men, 1538 
with whom he put to sea, over the bar of San Lucar April 
de Barremeda. Arriving at Cuba, he consumed a year 
in arranging the affairs of his government, and in preparation 
for the great enterprise before him.* At the end of that period, 
he left his wife, Dona Isabel de Bobadilla, and the Lieu- 
tenant Governor, in charge of the Island, and sailed for 1539 
the coast of Florida, with a fleet of nine vessels — five May 12 
large ships, together with caravels and brigantines. 

* Portuguese Narrative, pp. 695-700. Garcellasso de la Vega, pp. 59-60. 



18 HISTORY OF ALAJiAMA. 

A prosperous voyage soon enabled De Soto to pitch his camp 
upon the shores of Tampa Bay, in Florida, with an army 
May 30 now increased to one thousand men. Sending out de- 
tachments to capture Indians, from whom he expected 
to learn something of the country, he found them skilful with 
the bow and too wily to be easily taken. In one of these sallies, 
the soldiers under Baltasar de Gallegos charged upon a small 
number of Indians. At that moment a voice cried out, " I am a 
Christian ! I am a Christian ! — slay me not." Instantly Alvaro 
Nieto, a stout trooper, drew back his lance, and lifting the un- 
known man up behind him, pranced oft" to join his comrades. 

Panfilo de Narvaez had attempted to overrun this country 
with a large expedition ; but after disastrous wander- 
1528 ings, he reached Apalache without finding any gold, — 
and from thence went to the site of the present St. 
Marks, where his famished troops embarked for Cuba, in rude 
and hastily constructed boats, which were soon swallowed by 
the waves.* Jean Ortiz, the person taken prisoner, and who 
now in all respects, resembled a savage, was a native of the town 
of Seville, in Spain. When a youth, he came to this coast with 
some others in search of Narvaez, and was captured by the 
Indians, who were about to burn him to death, when he was for- 
tunately saved through the entreaties of the beautiful daughter 
of Uceta, the Chief. In the earlier periods of his slavery he was 
treated with barbarity, and compelled to guard, night and day, 
a lonely temple, in which the dead were deposited. After having 
been twelve years a prisoner among these savages, he was joy- 
fully hastening to the camp of De Soto, when the Castilian 
words, which he so imploringly uttered, arrested the terrible 
lance of Alvaro Nieto. t 

Gratified at the appearance of Jean Ortiz, who became his in- 

* A history of the expedition of Narvaez will he found in Harcia, vol. 1, folio edition, 
Madrid, 1741), entitled " N'avfra^ios de Alvar Nunez Cabzea de Vaca y Relacion de la 
Jornada que hizoala Florida, con el Adelantado Panfilo de Narvaez." See, also, Her- 
rera's History of America, vol. i, pp. 21-3S, vol. 6, pp. 91-105. London : 1740. 

t Portuguese Narrative, pp. 702-704. (iarcellasso, pp. 45-64. 



DE SOTO IN ALAI5AMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 19 

terpreter, De Soto gave him clothes and arras, and plac- 
ed hira upon a good charger. The Adelantado was now 1539 
ready to penetrate the interior. His troops were pro- June 
vided with helmets, breastplates, shields, and coats of 
steel to repel arrows of the Indians ; and with swords, Biscayan 
lances, rude guns called arquebuses, cross-bows, and one piece of 
artillery. His cavaliers, mounted upon two hundred and thirteen 
horses, were the most gallant and graceful men of all Spain. 
Greyhounds, of almost the fleetness of the winds, were ready to 
be turned loose upon the retreating savages ; and bloodhounds, 
of prodigious and noted ferocity, were at hand to devour them, if 
the bloody Spaniards deemed it necessary. To secure the un- 
happy Indian, handcuffs, chains and neck collars abounded in 
the camp. Workmen of every trade, with their various tools, 
and men of science, with their philosophical instruments and 
crucibles for refining gold, were in attendance. Tons of iron and 
steel, and much other metal, various merchandise, and provisions 
to last two years, were provided by the munificense of the com- 
mander and his followers. A large drove of hogs, which strange- 
ly multiplied upon the route, together with cattle and mules, 
was also attached to the expedition. The establishment of the 
Catholic religion appears to have been one of the objects ; for, 
associated with the army, were twelve priests, eight clergymen 
of inferior rank, and four monks, with their robes, holy 
relics, and sacramental bread and wine. Most of them 1539 
were relatives of the superior officers. Never was an June 
expedition more complete, owing to the experience of 
De Soto, who, upon the plains of Peru, had ridden down hun- 
dreds in his powerful charges, and had poured out streams of 
savage blood with his broad and sweeping sword ! It is not 
within our scope to detail the bloody engagements which attend- 
ed the wanderings of this daring son of Spain, upon the territory 
of the now State of Florida. Everywhere, but especially in nar- 
row defiles, the natives showered clouds of arrows upon the in- 



20 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



vaders. Strong in numbers, and made revengeful by the cruel- 
ties inflicted by Narvaez, they had determined to fight De Soto 
until his army was destroyed or driven from their soil. No- 
where in Florida did he find peace. His gallant troops, however, 
were successful. The Indians, often put to flight, and as often 
captured, were laden with chains, while the ponderous baggage 
of the expedition was unfeelingly thrown upon their backs for 
transportation. When in camp, they were made to pound corn, 
and to perform the most laborious and servile drudgery. 

Cutting his way from Tampa, De Soto arrived at 

1539 Anaica Apalache, in the neighborhood of the modern 
Oct. 27 Tallahassee. Then, as it is yet, a fertile region, he drew 

from this town, and from others which surrounded it, 
breadstuff's to last him during the winter. The sea, only thirty 
miles distant, was explored by a detachment, and at the present 
St. Marks the bones of horses, hewn timbers, and other evidences 
of Narvaez, were discovered. During the winter all the detach- 
ments, in their various expeditions, were attacked by the Indians, 
and the main camp at Apalache was harrassed, day and night, in 
the fiercest manner, and with the most sanguinary results. At 
length Captain Maldinado, who had been ordered to sail to the 
west in some brigantines, which arrived from Tampa Bay, in 

search of a good harbor, returned in February and re- 

1540 ported the discovery of the bay of Ocbus, since called 
Feb. Pensacola, which had a spacious channel, and was pro- 
tected from the winds on all sides.* Delighted at this 

good news, which enabled the Governor to make a wide circuit 
in the interior, he now ordered Maldinado to put to sea in the 
brigantines which then lay in the Apalache Bay, and to sail for 
Cuba. He was commanded to sail from thence to Ochus with a 
fleet of provisions, clothes, and military supplies, with which to 

* The Portuguese Narrative asserts that Maldinado was sent to the west, at the 
head of a detachment, by land; but I adopt the more reasonable statement of Garcel- 
lasso, especially as he is sustained by Biedma, Desoto's commissary. See "Relation de 
ce qui arriva pendant le voyage du Captaine Soto, par Luis Hernandez de Biedma," 
p. 59. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 21 

recruit the expedition, when it should have met him at that point 
in October.* 

Learning from an Indian slave that a country to the north- 
east abounded in gold, De Soto broke up his winter 
encampment, and set out in that direction. He entered 1540 
the territory of the present Georgia at its southwestern Mar. 3 
border, and successively crossing the Ockmulgee, Oconee 
and Ogechee,f finally rested upon the banks of the Savannah, im- 
mediately opposite the modern Silver Bluff. On the eastern side 
was the town of Cutifachiqui,t where lived an Indian Queen, young, 
beautiful and unmarried, and who ruled the country around to a 
vast extent. She glided across the river in a magnificent canoe, with 
many attendants, and, after an interesting interview with De 
Soto, in which they exchanged presents, and passed many 
agreeable compliments, she invited him and his numerous fol- 
lowers over to her town. The next day the expedition 
crossed the Savannah upon log rafts and in canoes, and 1540 
quartered in the wigwams and under the spreading April 
shades of the mulberry. Many interesting things oc- 
curred at this place, which are mentioned at length by both of 
the journalists of De Soto, particularly by Garcellasso, but which 
are here reluctantly omitted in our anxiety to reach the borders 
of Alabama. 

After a halt of several weeks at Cutifachiqui, De Soto broke 

* Portuguese Narrative, p. 709. Garcellasso, pp. 211-214. 

t Biedma states that De Soto crossed a river (while in this part of the country) 
called the Altapaha. The substitution of onlv one letter would make it the Altamaha. 
p. 62. 

t All Indian tradition locates this town at the modern Silver Bluff, which is sit- 
uated on the east bank of the Savannah, in Barnwell District, South Carolina, and 
which is now the property of Governor Hammond. 

In 1736, George Golphin, then a young Irishman, established himself as an Indian 
trader at this point, and gave the old site of Cutifachiqui the name of Silver Bluff. The 
most ancient Indians informed him that this was the place where De Soto found the 
Indian Princess; and this tradition agrees with that preserved by other old traders, and 
handed down to me. Golphin became a very wealthy man, and was for many years one 
of the most influential persons in Georgia and South' Carolina, as we will see hereafter. 
He left many descendants ; among others, the wife of the late Governor Millege, was his 
daughter; Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, an intelligent man, of Baldwin county, Alabama, is 
his grandson. 

Bertram, in his " Travels," page 313, speaking of Silver Bluff, says : "The Spaniards 
formerly fixed themselves at this place in the hopes of finding silver." 



22 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

up his camp, and, in company with the beautiful young Queen, 
whom he retained about his person as a hostage, to secure obe- 
dience among her subjects, and who did not escape 
1540 from him until the army had nearly accomplished 
May 3 its route through northern Georgia — marched up the 
Savannah to its head waters, and rested, for a short 
time, at a town in the present Habersham county, Georgia. 
From this place the expedition assumed a direct western 
course, across northern Georgia, until they struck the head 
waters of the Coosa river, where they advanced upon the 
town of Guaxule, containing three hundred houses, and sit- 
uated between several streams which had their sources in the 
surrounding mountains. The Chief met De Soto with five hun- 
dred warriors clothed in light costume, after the fashion of the 
country, and conducted him to his own house — surrendered at 
the instance of his wife — which stood upon a mound, and was 
surrounded by a terrace wide enough for six men to promenade 
abreast* Having but little corn for the famished troops, the 
natives collected and gave them three hundred dogs, which the 
Spaniards had been accustomed to eat in the pine barrens of 
lower Georgia, " esteeming them as though they had been fat 
wethers. "t Gaining much information about the country, in 
conversations with the Chief, conducted by the inter- 
preter, Jean Ortiz, the Governor, after the fourth day's 1540 
sojourn at Guaxule, marched to the town of Conasauga, May 
in the modern county of Murray, Georgia. Cross- 
ing the Conasauga creek, and journeying down its western banks, 
the Spaniards found it to increase in size, and being joined by 
other streams, it presently grew larger than the Guadalquiver 
which passes by Seville.! This was the Oostanaula ; and follow- 
ing its western side, De Soto, after a very slow march, advanced 
within seven miles of Chiaha, where he was met by fifteen In- 

* Garcellasso, p. 294. 

t Portuguese Marrative, p. 712. 

t Garcellasso, 295. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 23 

dians, laden with corn, bearing a message from the Chief, 
inviting him to hasten to his capital, where abundant 1540 
supplies awaited him. Soon the eager Spaniards stood May 
before the town of Chiaha, which is the site of the mod- 
ern Rome. 

The most ancient Cherokee Indians, whose tradition has 
been handed down to us through old Indian traders, disagree as 
to the precise place where De Soto crossed the Oostanaula to get 
over into the town of Chiaha — some asserting that he passed over 
that river seven miles above its junction with the Etowa, and 
that he marched from thence down to Chiaha, which, all contend, 
lay immediately at the confluence of the two rivers ; while other 
ancient Indians asserted that he crossed, with his army, immedi- 
ately opposite the town. But this is not very important. Coup- 
ling the Indian traditions with the account by Garcellasso, and 
that by the Portuguese eye-witness, we are inclined to believe 
the latter tradition that the expedition continued to advance 
down the western side of the Oostanaula, until they halted in 
view of the mouth of the Etowa. 

De Soto having arrived immediately opposite the 
great town of Chiaha, now the site of Rome, crossed the 1 540 
Oostanaula in canoes and upon rafts made of logs pre- June 5 
pared by the Indians, and took up his quarters in the 
town.* 

The, noble young chief received De Soto with unaffected joy, 
and made him the following address : 

" Mighty Chief : Nothing could have made me so happy as to 
be the means of serving you and your warriors. You sent me 
word from Guaxule to have corn collected to last your army two 
months. Here I have twenty barns full of the best which the 
country can afford. If I have not met your wishes, respect my 
tender age, and receive my good will to do for you whatever 
I am able."t 

* Garcellasso, p. 295. 

t Portuguese Narrative, p. 717. 



24 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

The Governor responded in a kind manner, and was then 
conducted to the Chief's own house, prepared for his accommo- 
dation. 

Chiaha contained a great quantity of bear's oil in gourds, and 
walnut oil as clear as butter and equally palatable; and for the 
only time upon the entire route were seen pots of honey.* The 
Spaniards, irregularly quartered in the fields, and scattered about 
at their will, reposed under trees and loitered upon the banks of 
the rivers. The horses, reduced in flesh and unfit for battle, 
grazed upon the meadows. Unaccustomed to allow such loose 
discipline, De Soto now winked at it, for the natives were 
friendly, and every soul in the camp needed repose. One day 
the Chief presented the Governor with a string of 
1540 pearls, two yards in length, and as large as filberts, for 
June which he received in return pieces of velvet and other 
cloth much esteemed by the Indians. He said that the 
temple of this town, where the remains of his ancestors were de- 
posited, contained a vast quantity of these valuables. He invited 
his distinguished guest to take from it as many as he desired. 
But the latter declined, remarking that he wished to appropriate 
nothing to himself from so sacred a place. The Chief, to gratify 
him in regard to the manner of obtaining these pearls, immedi- 
ately despatched somelof his|subjects in four canoes, with instruc- 
tions to fish all night for the oysters which contained them. In 
the morning he caused a fire to be made upon the bank. The 
canoes returned laden, and the natives throwing the oysters upon 
the glowing coals, succeeded in finding many pearls the size of 
peas, which De Soto pronounced beautiful, but for the fire, which 
had robbed them of some of their brilliancy. A soldier, in eat- 
ing some of the oysters, or, rather, muscles, found one of great 

* I have often been informed by old bee hunters and Indian countrymen, that after the 
territory of Alabama became partially settled by an American population, wild bees 
were much more abundant than they were in their earliest recollection. They were in- 
troduced into the country from Georgia and the Carolinas, and often escaping from 
their hives to the woods, became wild; hence De Soto found no honey in the country 
at the early period in which he invaded it, except at Chiaha. 



DE BOTO IV ALABAMA, &XOBOIA 4JTD MISSISSIPPI* 25 

size uninjured, and offered it to the commander for bona Isabel. 
He declined the kindness intended bis wife, and urged the gener- 
ous fellow to keep it to buy horses with at Havana. Connois- 
seurs in eamp valued it at four hnndied ducats.* While here, a 
cavalier, named Luis Bravo de Seres, walking one day upon the 
hank of the river, threw his lanee at a dog, which suddenly dis- 
appeared under the bluff. Coming np to recover bis weapon, he 
found, to his horror, that it had pierced the temple of Jean 

Mateo.-, and had killed him. The poor man was quietly fishing 

on the margin of the stream, and little suspecting that 
death was at band. The accident caused deep regret 1540 
in the camp, the deceased being much esteemed, and, June 

having the only gray bead in the army, was called, by 

way of pleasantry, father Mateos.f 

About this time a principal Indian from Costa, a town be- 
low, Informed De Soto that in the mountains to the north, at a 

place called, Cbisca, were mines of copper, and of a yellow metal, 
still finer and softer. Having seen, upon the Savannah, 
copper hatchets supposed to be mixed with gold, his 1540 
attention was deeply aroused Upon the subject. Villa- June 

bos and Bilvera, two fearL oldiers, volunteered to 

explore that region. Furnished with guides by the Chief of 
Chiaha, they departed upon their perilous 1 journey. 

The Spaniards bad basked upon the delightful spot where 

now stands the town of Rome, for the space of thirty days. The 
horses had recruited, and the troops hud grown vigorous and 
ready for desperate deeds. De Boto demanded of the hospitable 

*Garcells o,p 297. The ojster mentioned irai the muscle to i»<- found in all (be 
riven >,\ sJabama. Heaps of muscle shells are now to be teen on oni ri v<-r b;mkh wher- 
ever Indian* need to lire. The) irere mncn used » »y the ancienl Indian* for tome pur- 

, and old warrior* hare Informed me that Mici r aneeetore once used the shell 
tempei the clay witb irhich they made tbeii ressels. Bui at thousands of the shell* lie 
banked op, some deep in the ground, ire n luppose that the Indians, in De Soto's 

time, everywhere In Alabama, obtained pearli from them. There can i><- no doubt about 
the quantity of pearli found in this State and Georgia in 1640, but they were of a coarsei 
and more valueless kind than the Spaniards supposed. The Indians used to perforate 
them with a heated copper spindle, and string them around their necks and arms like 
beads others made toy babies ami bird* of them. 

t Garcellasso, p. 2 



26 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Chief, through the persuasion of some of his unprincipled officers, 
a number of females to accompany them in their wanderings. 
That night the inhabitants quietly left the town and hid them- 
selves in the bordering forests. The Chief entreated the Gov- 
ernor not to hold him responsible for their conduct, for, during 
his minority, an arbitrary uncle ruled them with a despotic will. 

With sixty troopers De Soto ravaged the surrounding 
1540 country, and, provoked at not finding the fugitives, laid 
June waste their nourishing fields of corn. When afterwards 

informed that men only would be required to bear the 
baggage, the Indians returned to Chiaha, apologized for their 
flight, and yielded to the last proposition .* De Soto then broke 
up his camp, re-crossed the Oostanaula, and marched down the 
west side of the Coosa, leaving the generous people of Chiaha 
well satisfied with presents. On the 2d July, and after seven 
days slow march, he entered the town of Costa.t The Spaniards 
were now in Alabama, in the territory embraced in the 
county ol Cherokee, and by the side of the Coosa, one 1540 
of our noblest streams. Ne\er before had our soil been July 
trodden by European feet ! Never before had our 
natives beheld white faces, long beards, strange apparel, glitter- 
ing armor, and, stranger than all, the singular animals bestrode 
by the dashing cavaliers ! De Soto had discovered Alabama, not 
by sea, but after dangerous and difficult marches had penetrated 
her northeastern border with a splendid and well equipped land 
expedition ! The Atlantic States were quietly discovered by 
voyagers entering their harbors. Alabama was marched upon 
by an army, whose soldiers sickened with famine upon the bar- 
rens of Georgia, and left tracks of blood upon the soil of Florida ! 
Commanding his camp to be pitched two cross-bow shots 
from the town, De Soto, with eight men of his guard, approached 
the Chief of Costa, who received him with apparent friendship. 

* Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719. 
t Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 27 

While they were conversing together some unscrupulous foot- 
men entered the town and plundered several of the houses. The 
justly incensed Indians fell upon them with their clubs. Seeing 
himself surrounded by the natives, and in great personal danger, 
the Governor seized a cudgel, and, with his usual presence of 
mind, commenced beating his own men. The savages, observing 
that he took their part, became pacified for a moment. In the 
meantime, taking the Chief by the hand, he led him, with flatter- 
ing words, towards the camp, where he was presently surrounded 
by a guard and held as a hostage.* The Spaniards remained 
under arms all night. Fifteen hundred Indians, armed complete, 
often made dispositions to charge upon them, vociferating angry 
and insulting language. Averse to war since he had been so re- 
peatedly attacked by the Floridians, De Soto restrained his 
anxious troops. His coolness, together with the influence of a 
prominent Indian who followed him from Chiaha, put an end to 
the serious affair, t Three days after this Villabos and Silvera 
returned from Chisca. They passed into the mountains, found 
no gold, but a country abounding with lofty hills and stupendous 
rocks. Dispirited, they returned to a poor town, where the in- 
habitants gave them a buffalo robe, which they supposed once 
covered a tremendous animal, partaking of the qualities of the ox 
and the sheep. $ According to Garcellasso, the mines which they 
reached were of a highly colored copper, and were 
doubtless situated in the territory of the county of De 1540 
Kalb. The sick, who were placed in canoes at Chiaha, July 9 
had by this time arrived down the river. Furnished 
with the burden carriers by the Chief, who was to the last 
hour held a prisoner, the Governor left Costa on the 9th of July, 
1540, and crossed over to the east side of the Coosa upon rafts 
and canoes. Proceeding down its eastern bank, he encamped the 
first night at the town of Talle. The Chief came forth to receive 

* Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719. 

t Garcellasso, p. 300. 

X Portuguese Narrative,'p. 719. 



28 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

him, and, in a formal speech, begged him to command his ser- 
vices. Here the Spaniards remained two days, sharing the hos- 
pitality of the natives. Upon their departure they were supplied 
with two women and four men. Indeed, De Soto brought from 
the forests of Florida over five hundred unhappy men and women, 
secured with chains, driven by keepers, and made to transport 
the effects of the expedition. When any of them became sick, 
died, or escaped, it was his policy to supply their places at the 
first town upon which he marched. He always, however, distri- 
buted among the principal Indians presents, which were gratify- 
ing to them, and left at many of the towns pairs of swine to stock 
the country. 

The expedition now began to enter the far-famed province of 
Coosa, the beauty and fertility of which were known to all the 

Indians, even upon the seaside. Garcellasso asserts 
1540 that it extended three hundred miles, and other authors 
July agree that it reached over the territory now embraced 

in the counties of Cherokee, Benton, Talladega and Coo- 
sa. Continuing through the rich lands of Benton, the expedition 
passed many towns subject to the Chief of Coosa. Every day 
they met ambassadors, " one going and another coming," by which 
De Soto was assured of a hearty welcome at the capital.* With 
joyful faces the Indians rushed to his lines every mile upon the 
route, furnishing supplies and assisting the troops from one town 
to another. The same generous reception attended him upon 
entering the soil of the county of Talladega. The hospitality of 
the Coosas surpassed that of any people whom be had yet dis- 
covered. The trail was lined with towns, villages and hamlets, 
and " many sown fields which reached from one to the other."f 
With a delightful climate, and abounding in fine meadows and 
beautiful little rivers, this region was charming to De Soto and 
his followers. The numerous barns were full of corn, while acres 

* Portuguese Narrative, p. 719. 
t Portuguese Narrative, p. 719. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 29 

of that which was growing bent to the warm rays of the sun and 
rustled in the breeze. In the plains were plum trees peculiar to 
the country, and others resembling those of Spain. Wild fruit 
clambered to the tops of the loftiest trees, and lower branches 
were laden with delicious Isabella grapes. 

On the 26th of July, 1540, the army came in sight 
of the town of Coosa. Far in the outskirts, De Soto was 1540 
met by the Chief, seated upon a cushion, and riding in a July 26 
chair supported upon the shoulders of four of his chief 
men. One thousand warriors, tall, active, sprightly and admira- 
bly proportioned, with large plumes of various colors on their 
heads, followed him, marching in regular order. His dress con- 
sisted of a splendid mantle of martin skins, thrown gracefully 
over his shoulder, while his head was adorned with a diadem of 
brilliant feathers. Around him many Indians raised their voices 
in song, and others made music upon flutes.* The steel-clad 
warriors of Spain, with their glittering armor, scarcely equalled 
the magnificent display made by these natives of Alabama. The 
Chief, receiving De Soto with the warmth of a generous heart, 
made him the following speech : 

" Mighty Chief ! above all others of the earth ! Although I 
come now to receive you, yet I received you many days ago deep 
in my heart. If I had the whole world, it would not give me as 
much pleasure as I now enjoy at the presence of yourself and 
your incomparable warriors. My person, lands and subjects are 
at your service. I will now march you to your quarters with 
playing and singing."f 

De Soto responded in his best style, after which he advanced 
to the town, conversing with the Chief, who rode in his sedan 
chair, while the lofty Spaniard sat upon his fiery steed. The 
royal house was set apart for the accommodation of the Adelan- 
tado, and one half of the other houses were surrendered 

* Garcellasso, p. 300. 

t Portuguese Narrative, pp. 719-720. 



30 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



1540 to the troops. The town of Coosa was situated upon the 
July east bank of the river of that name, between the mouths 

of the two creeks, now known as Talladega and Tallase- 
hatchee, one of which is sometimes called Kiamulgee.* It con- 
tained five hundred houses, and was the capital of this rich and 
extensive province. 

The Chief of Coosa was twenty-six years of age, well formed, 
intelligent, with a face beautifully expressive, and a heart honest 
and generous. He always dined with De Soto. One day he rose 
from the table, and, in an earnest manner, besought the Governor 
to select a region anywhere in his dominions, and immediately 
establish upon it a large Spanish colony. De Soto had contem- 
plated peopling some beautiful country, and was better pleased 
with this section than any other, but his imagination still 
pointed him to some gold region, like Peru. He returned the 

Chief his profound thanks, adduced many reasons for de- 
1540 dining the liberal offer, among others, that Maldinado's 
Aug. ships would await him at the bay of Pensacola. Yet, in 

the face of all the kindness, the politic and suspicious De 
Soto kept the Chief about his person, as a hostage, to preserve 
peace among the Indians, and to extort slaves and provisions. 
Enraged at the imprisonment of their Chief, the Indians fled to 
the woods to prepare for war. Four captains, with their compa- 
nies, were despatched in different directions in pursuit, and 
returned with many women and men in chains. Some of the 
principal of these were released at the entreaty of the Chief, 

* In 1798, Col. Benjamin Hawkins, then Creek Agent, visited the Coosa town, now 
embraced in the county of Talladega. He accurately describes the inhabitants and the 
location of the town, which lie says was situated on the banksof the Coosa, between the 
mouths of two creeks, the Indian' names of which were Natehe and Ufaula. When the 
French expelled the Natchez from the Mississippi in 1730, some of that tribe sought 
refuge among the Talladegas— hence the name of one of these creeks in Hawkins' day. 
When the Americans, in 1832, began to settle this country, they changed the names of 
these creeks to Talladega, or Kiaimiliree. and Tallasehatchee. In addition to the testi- 
mony of Col. Hawkins, many old Indian Countrymen have informed me that here was 
the site of the Coosa town, which was known by that name in their early days. Several 
ancient French and Spanish maps, in my possession, lay down the town of Coosa at the 
place described. 

See Hawkins' sketch of the Creek Country in 1798-1799, published by the Historical 
Society of Georgia, Savannah, 1848. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 31 

while others were carried off with the expedition, laden with 
irons and baggage, and those who were not destroyed at the bat- 
tle of Maubila were conducted far beyond the Mississippi river.* 
The Indians returned from the forest, and remained at peace 
with the Spaniards, but were still dissatisfied at the restrictions 
imposed upon the liberties of their Chief. After twenty- 
five days had been passed at the capital of Coosa, De 1540 
Soto marched in the direction of the Tallapoosa, leaving Aug. 
behind a Christian negro, too sick to travel, whom the 
Indians desired to retain among them on account of his singular 
hair and sable complexion. He recovered, and was doubtless the 
distant ancestor of the dark-colored savages seen in that region 
in more modern times. t The first day the army passed through 
the large town of Tallemuchasa, within a few hours after it had 
been abandoned by its inhabitants. The next day the town of 
Utaua was reached, where De Soto encamped six days, awaiting 
the abacement of the stream which ran by it, now violently swol- 
len by incessant rains. As the expedition had not crossed any 
stream since leaving Coosa, it is probable the one alluded to was 
the modern Tallasehatchee. The march was continued to Ulle- 
bahale, situated upon Platchet creek, which was called a "small 
river." The town was surrounded by a wall composed of two 
rows of posts driven deep in the ground, with poles laid hori- 
zontally between them, the inner and outside of the frame work 
neatly stuccoed with clay and straw. Fort-holes were left at 
proper distances, forming a defence "as high as a lance." Such 
was the character of the Indian fortifications from this place on- 

* Portuguese Narrative, p. 720. 

I- The negro left at Coosa was not the only memorial of De Soto that remained with 
these people. George Stiggins, whose mother was a Natchez Indian, and whose f.ither 
was a Scotchman, was born in the Talladega country. He was a fair English scholar, 
and a pretty good writer. He had been for years engaged in writing a history of the 
Creeks, and died some years ago, leaving it in an unfinished state. His son permitted 
me to peruse it one day. Stiggins asserts that the Talladegas had, at a late day, a brass 
kettle-drum and several shields which once belonged to the army of De Soto, and that 
he had often seen them. The Coosas used them as trophies in their annual festivals. 
.Besides these, De Soto left hogs and sometimes cattle among the Alabama towns, and 
such is the origin of these animals among the Indians. Horses and mules were too 
valuable to be given away. 



32 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

ward. In consequence of the duresse of the Chief of Coosa, whom 
De Soto carried along with him, but treated with respect and 
kindness, the Indians of Ullebahale were in arms. Before the 

Spaniards entered the suburbs, twelve principal men, 

1540 armed with bows, and with lofty plumes upon their 

Sept. 14 heads, advanced and volunteered to rescue their beloved 

Chief by arraying a formidable force, but he dissuaded 
them from it. On the opposite side of the creek lived a sub- 
Chief, who furnished De Soto with thirty women for slaves, and 
to carry burdens. Then the Adelantado pursued his wanderings, 
leaving behind Mansano, a native of Salamanca, of noble parent- 
age, who was lost while rambling in the hills for grapes, which 
were found in great abundance. The route lay along the modern 

Socapatoy region, in the county of Coosa. The expedi- 
1540 tion passed the town of Toase, and several others, sub- 
Sept. 18 ject to the Chief of Tallase, and arrived at the great town 

of that name on the 18th September, 1540. 
Tallase was an extensive town, the principal part of which was 
encompassed by a wall, similar to that just described, with the 
addition of terraces. It reposed upon a point of land " almost 
surrounded by a main river," which was the Tallapoosa.* Ex- 
tensive fields of corn reached up and down the banks. On the 
opposite side were other towns, skirted with rich fields laden with 
heavy ears of maize. The beautiful river, rolling its silvery waters 
through these fertile lands, and the delightful climate, contrib- 
uted to render the whole prospect most pleasing. But the recep- 
tion of De Soto among these people was cool and scarcely civil. 
Some had abandoned their houses at his approach, and gone into 
the woods. However, the Chief gave him forty Indians. After 

•Some years after De Soto passed through this country, the Muscogees or Creeks came 
from the Mexican empire, of which they were subjects, and overrun all hast Alabama 
and the greater portion of Georgia, killing and making: slaves of many of the Alabamas, 
Ockmulgees, Oconees and Uchees. the latter of whom then lived near the modern city of 
Savannah. Upon the ruins of the Tallase discovered by De Soto, the Muscogees built 
the town of Tookabatcha, but immediately opposite, across the river, the name of Tal- 
lase was preserved until they moved to Arkansas, in 1836. This ancient and extensive 
Indian settlement is now in large cotton plantations. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 33 

a few days, a noble-looking young savage, of gigantic proportions, 
and with a face extremely handsome and interesting, visited the 
marquee. He was the son of Tuscaloosa, a potent Chief, whose 
domains commenced thirty miles below, and extended to the dis- 
tant Tombigby. He bore an invitation from his father to De 
Soto to hasten to his capital, where he was making preparations 
to receive him upon a magnificent scale, and then awaited him 
upon the eastern confines of his territory. The son was des- 
patched with a suitable reply, and presents for the father. 

Having remained at Tallase twenty days, De Soto dismissed 
the Chief of Coosa, with whom he parted upon good terms, 
crossed the Tallapoosa in canoes and upon rafts, marched down 
the eastern side, and encamped the first night at Casista, prob- 
ably the sight of the modern Autose. Delayed in pass- 
ing the river, he could not have advanced further that 1540 
day. In the morning the march was resumed. During Oct* 
this day a large town was discovered, and at night the 
camp was pitched upon the borders of another. The next day, 
advancing within six miles of the temporary residence of Tusca- 
loosa, a halt was made in the woods. Louis de Moscoso, the 
campmaster, with fifteen horsemen, was despatched to inform 
the Chief of the proximity of the Governor. Moscoso found the 
proud Mobilian seated upon two cushions, placed on a large and 
elegant matting, upon an eminence which commanded a delight- 
ful prospect. His numerous attendants posted themselves 
around him, leaving space for the nearer position of his chief men. 
One of these held over his head a round deerskin shield, with a 
staff in the middle, resembling an umbrella. Fainted with stripes 
of different colors, it was used as a banner in his wars, but was 
employed at present in protecting his head from the rays of the 
sun. Tuscaloosa was 40 years of age, of great stature, with im- 
mense limbs. He was spare around the waist, and his whole 
form was admirably proportioned. His countenance was hand- 
some, but grave and severe. " He was lord of many territories 

— 3 



34 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



and much people, and was feared by his neighbors and subjects." 
In vain did Moscoso endeavor to excite his curiosity, by prancing 
his horses before him. Sometimes he scarcely deigned to raise 
his eyes, and then, again, be bestowed upon the troopers the most 
contemptuous smiles. Even when De Soto arrived, he preserved 
the same haughty demeanor; but, in consideration of his position 
as commander-in-chief, he reluctantly advanced, and made the 
following address : 

" Mighty Chief: I bid you welcome. I greet you as I would 
my brother. It is needless to talk long. What I have to say can 

be said in a few words. You shall know how willing 
] 540 I am to serve you. I am thankful for the things which 
Oct. you have sent me, chiefly because they were yours. I 

am now ready to comply with your desires." 

The Governor replied in true Spanish style, failing, not to 
assure the Chief that, even in distant Indian countries, through 
which he passed, he had heard of his greatness and power. 
This interesting scene occurred below Line Creek, in the present 
county of Montgomery. Both journalists agree that De Soto had 
advanced thirty-six miles below Tallase. Reposing at this 
town the space of two days, preparations were made to advance. 
An officer was sent among the horses, to find one large enough 
to sustain the giant Indian. A large pack horse, the property of 
the Governor, was selected. Appareled in a rich suit of scarlet, 
and a cap of the same, given to him by De Soto, the Chieftain, 
who was a head taller than any of his attendants, mounted upon 
his horse, with his feet nearly trailing on the ground. 
1540 Onward the lofty and graceful Mobilian rode, side by 
Oct. side with the Governor. Marching through the terri- 
tory embraced in the present counties of Montgomery, 
Lowndes, and the southeastern part of Dallas, the expedition ar- 
rived at a town called Piache, seated on a peninsula formed by 
the windings of a large river, " the same which runs by Tallase, 



DE SOTO IX ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 35 

but here grown much wider and deeper."* This was the Ala- 
bama. On the march hither, a distressing disease broke out 
among the Spaniards, from the want of salt. The death of sev- 
eral, together with the loathsome condition of the sufferers, 
spread alarm in the camp. Those who afterwards used ashes 
with their food, from a weed recommended by the Indians, 
escaped the dreadful malady.f 

The town of Piache was strongly fortified. Its name is 
probable preserved in a large creek which flows into the Alabama 
en the northern side, called Chilache. The Indians having no 
canoes, soon constructed rafts of dry logs and cane, upon which 
the troops were wafted to the northern or western side of the 
Alabama — according to the conviction of the writer, in the upper 
part of the county of Wilcox. $ 

The expedition assumed a southern direction, and marched 
down the western side of the Alabama, over the soil of 
the present county of Wilcox. De Soto began to read 1540 
the Mobilian Chief. He was still proud and distant, and Oct. 
evidently felt that he was a prisoner. Upon the whole 
route he had been studiously engaged in consulting with his 
principal men, and in constantly sending runners to the capital 
with messages. De Soto suspected that he meditated schemes, 
which aimed at the destruction of the Spaniards. His suspicions 
were further awakened, when Villabos and another cavalier were 
believed to have been killed by his subjects. When asked about 
them Tuscaloosa indignantly replied, "I am not their keeper." 
High words ensued between him and De Soto ; but the latter re- 
strained himself until an opportunity offered of taking deep re- 
venge on the Chief for his insolence and the death of the two 
Spaniards. On the third day of the march from Piache, they 

* Garcellasso, p. 310. Portuguese Narrative, p. 722. 

t Garcellasso, pp. 369-370. 

t Biedma says that De Soto occupied two days in passing the river; and he learned 
from the Indians that Narvaez's barques touched at the mouth of the river (the Ala- 
bama) in search of water, and that a Christian, named Teodoro, was still among the 
Indians below— and they exhibited to De Soto a dagger which they had obtained from 
him. p. 72. 



36 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

passed through many populous towns, well stored with corn, 
beans, pumpkins, and other provisions. In the meantime, Chara- 
milla and Yasques, two able and discreet cavaliers, were 
despatched in advance to discover if any conspiracy was going 
on at the capital. Before daylight, on the fourth morning, De 
Soto placed himself at the head of one hundred horse, and an 
equal number of foot, and marched rapidly in that direction with 
the Chief, leaving Moscoso, the camp-master, to bring up the 
larger portion of the troops. At eight o'clock the same morning, 

the 18th October, 1540, De Soto and Tuscaloosa arrived 

1540 at the capital, called Maubila. It stood by the side of 

Oct. 18 a large river, upon a beautiful plain, and consisted of 

eighty handsome houses, each capacious enough to con- 
tain a thousand men. They all fronted a large public square. 
They were encompassed by a high wall, made of immense trunks 
of trees, set deep in the ground and close together, strengthened 
with cross-timbers, and interwoven with large vines. A thick 
mud plaster, resembling handsome masonry, concealed the wood 
work, while port-holes were abundant, together with towers, 
capable of containing eight men each, at the distance of fifty 
paces apart. An eastern and a western gate opened into the 
town. The writer is satisfied that Maubila was upon the north 
bank of the Alabama, and at a place now called Choctaw Bluff, 
in the county of Clarke, about twenty-five miles above the con- 
fluence of the Alabama and Tombigby. The march from Piache, 
the time occupied, the distance from Maubila to the bay of Pen- 
sacola — computed by Oarcellasso and the Portuguese Gentleman 
at eighty-five miles — and the representations of aged Indians and 
Indian countrymen, that here was fought the great battle be- 
tween De Soto and the brave Mobilians, have forcibly con- 
tributed to make that impression upon his mind. 

De Soto and Tuscaloosa were ushered into the great public 
square of Maubila with songs, music upon Indian flutes, and the 
graceful dancing of beautiful brown girls. They alighted from 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 37 

their chargers, and seated themselves under a " canopy of state." 
Remaining here a short time, the Chief requested that he should 
no longer be held as a hostage, nor required to follow the army 
any further. The Adelantado hesitated in reply, which brought 
Tuscaloosa immediately to his feet, who walked off with a lofty 
and independent bearing, and entered one of the bouses. 
De Soto had scarcely recovered from bis surprise, when 1540 
Jean Ortiz followed the Chief and announced that Oct. 18 
breakfast awaited him at the Governor's table. Tusca- 
loosa refused to return, and added, '« If your Chief knows what is 
best for him, he will immediately take his troops out of my ter- 
ritory." In the meantime, Charamilla, one of the spies, informed 
the Governor that he had discovered over ten thousand men in 
the houses, the subjects of Tuscaloosa and other neighboring 
Chiefs ; that other houses were filled with bows, arrows, stones 
and clubs ; that the old women and children had been sent 
out of the town, and the Indians were at that moment de- 
bating the most suitable hour to capture the Spaniards. The 
General received this startling intelligence with the deep- 
est solicitude. He secretly sent word to his men to be 
ready for an attack. Then, anxious to avert a rupture, by 
regaining possession of the person of the Chief, he approached 
him with smiles and kind words, but Tuscaloosa scorn- 
fully turned his back upon him, and was soon lost 1540 
among the host of excited warriors. At that moment a Oct. 18 
principal Indian rushed out of the same house, and loudly 
denounced the Spaniards as robbers, thieves and assassins, 
who should no longer impose on their great Chief, by depriving 
him of a liberty with which he was born, and his fathers before 
him. His insolence, and the motions which he made to shoot at 
a squad of Spaniards with a drawn bow, so incensed Baltasar de 
Gallegos, that, with a powerful sweep of his sword, he split down 
his body and let out his bowels ! Like bees in a swarm the sav- 
ages now poured out upon the Spaniards. De Soto place 1 him- 



38 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

self at the head of his men, and fought face to face with the 
enemy, retreating slowly and passing the gate into the plain. 
His cavalry had rushed to rescue their horses, tied outside the 
walls, some of which the Indians came upon in time to kill. 
Still receding to get out of the reach of the enemy, De Soto at 
length paused at a considerable distance upon the plain. The 
Mobilians seized the Indian slaves, packed upon their backs the 
effects of the expedition, which had now arrived and lay scattered 
about, drove the poor devils within the walls, knocked off their 
irons, placed bows in their hands, and arrayed them in battle 
against their former masters. In the first sally, De Soto had 
five men killed and many wounded, himself among the latter 
number. Having captured the baggage, the victors covered the 
ground in advance of the gate, and rent the air with exulting 
shouts. At that moment the Governor headed his cavalry, and 
followed by his footmen, charged upon the savage masses ; and, 
with a terrible slaughter, drove tbem back into the town. The 
Indians rushed to the port-holes and towers, and shot upon the 
invaders clouds of arrows, compelling them again to retire from 
the walls. A small party of Spaniards were left in a perilous 
situation. Three cross-bow men, an armed friendly Indian, five 
of De Soto's guard, some servants and two priests, not having 
time to join the others when first attacked in the square, took 
refuge in the house set apart for their commander. The savages 
sought an entrance at the door, but the unhappy inmates bravely 
defended it, killing many of the assailants. Others clambered 
upon the roof to open the covering, but were as successfully re- 
pulsed. Separated from their friends by a thick wall, 
1540 and in the midst of thousands of enemies panting to lap 
Oct. 18 their blood, their destruction appeared inevitable. Dur- 
ing the long struggle for existence, the holy fathers en- 
gaged in earnest prayer for their deliverance, while the others 
fought with a desperation which rose with the occasion. 

Seeing the Spaniards again retreat, the Indians rushed 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 39 

through the gates, and dropping down from the walls, engaged 
fiercely with the soldiers, seizing their sweeping swords and 
piercing lances ! Three long hours were consumed in the ter- 
rible conflict, first one side giving way and then the other. 
Occasionally, De Soto was strengthened by small squads 
of horsemen who arrived, and without orders, charged into 
the midst of the bloody melee. The Governor was every- 
where present in the fight, and his vigorous arm hewed down 
the lustiest warriors. That sword, which had often been dyed in 
the blood of Peruvians, was now crimsoned with the gore of a 
still braver race. The invincible Baltasar de Gallegos, who struck 
the first blow, followed it up, and was only equaled by the com- 
mander in the profuse outpouring of savage blood. Far on the 
borders of the exciting scene rode his brother, Fray Juan, a Do- 
minican friar, who constantly beckoned him to quit the engage- 
ment on foot, and take the horse which he bestrode, in 
order to fight the better. But Baltasar, gloating on 1540 
blood, heeded him not; when presently an Indian arrow, Oct. 18 
which made a slight wound upon the back of the 
worthy father, caused him to retire to a less dangerous distance. 
Indeed, during the whole battle the priests kept the plain, watched 
the awful carnage with intense anxiety, and often fell upon their 
knees, imploring Almighty God to give victory to the Spaniards. 
At length the matchless daring of De Soto and his troops 
forced the Indians to take a permanent position within Maubila, 
closing after them its ponderous gates. The sun began to lower 
towards the tops of the loftiest trees, when Moscoso and the last 
of the army arrived. He had strangely loitered by the way, al- 
lowing the soldiers to scatter in the woods and hunt at their leis- 
ure. His advanced guard heard at a distance the alarum of drums 
and the clangor of trumpets. With beating hearts they passed 
back the word along the scattered lines, from one to the 
other, and soon the hindmost rushed to the support of their ex- 
hausted and crimson-stained comrades. Joined by all his force, 



40 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



De Soto formed the best armed into four divisions of foot. Pro- 
vided with bucklers for defense, and battle-axes to demolish the 
walls, they made a simultaneous charge, at the firing of an arque- 
buse. Upon the first onset, they were assailed with showers of 
arrows and dreadful missies. Kepeated blows against the gates 
forced them open. The avenues were filled with eager soldiers, 
rushing into the square. Others, impatient to get in, battered 
the stucco from the walls and aided each other to climb over the 
skeleton works. A horrible and unparalleled carnage ensued. 
The horsemen remained on the outside to overtake those who 
might attempt to escape. The Indians fought in the 
1540 streets, in the square, from the tops of the houses and 
Oct. 18 walls. The ground was covered with their dead, but 
not one of the living entreated for quarters. The Span- 
iards were protected with bucklers and coats of mail, while 
the poor Indians were only covered with the thin shield which 
the Great Spirit gave them at the dawn of their existence. 
The troops entered the town in time to save the two priests and 
their companions, who had so long held out against such 
fearful odds. The battle, which now waxed hotter and more 
sanguinary than ever, cannot be as graphically described as 
the heroic deeds on either side so justly deserve. Often the 
Indians drove the troops out of the town, and as often they 
returned with increased desperation. Near the wall lay a large 
pool of delicious water, fed by many springs. It was now dis- 
colored with blood. Here soldiers fell down to slake the intense 
thirst created by heat and wounds, and those who were able rose 
again, and once more pitched into a combat characterized by the 
most revolting destruction of human life. For some time the 
young females had joined in the fight, and they now contended 
side by side with the foremost warriors, sharing in the 
1540 indiscriminate slaughter. Heated with excitement, 
Oct. 18 smarting with his wounds, and provoked at the unsub- 
dued fierceness of the natives, De Soto rushed out 



DE SOTO IX ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 41 

alone by the gate, threw himself into the saddle, and charged into 
the town. Calling, with a loud voice, upon " Our Lady and San- 
tiago," he forced his charger over hundreds of fighting men and 
women, followed by the brave Nuno Tobar. While opening lanes 
through the savage ranks and sprinkling his tracks with blood, 
he rose on one occasion to cast his lance into a gigantic warrior. 
At that instant a powerful winged arrow went deep into the bot- 
tom of his thigh. Unable to extract it, or to sit in his saddle, he 
continued to fight to the end of the battle, standing in his stir- 
rups. Everywhere, that mighty son of Spain now gorged upon 
Alabama blood ! His fearless bounds filled the boldest soldiers 
with renewed courage. At length the houses were set on fire, 
and the wind blew the smoke and flames in all directions, adding 
horror to the scene. The flames ascended in mighty volumes! 
The sun went down, hiding himself from the awful sight! Mau- 
bila was in ruins, and her inhabitants destroyed ! 

The battle of Maubila had lasted nine hours. It was disas- 
trous to De Soto. Eighty-two Spaniards were slain, or died in a 
few days after the engagement. Among these were Diego De 
Soto, the nephew of the Governor; Don Carlos Enriquez, who 
had married his niece; and Men-Kodriquez, a cavalier of Portu- 
gal, who had served with distinction in Africa and upon the Por- 
tuguese frontiers. Other men of rank and blood lost their lives 
in the terrible conflict, some of whom died in great agony, being 
shot in the eyes and in the joints of their limbs. Forty-five 
horses were slain — an irreparable loss, mourned by the whole 
expedition. All the camp equipage and baggage were consumed 
in the house where the Indians had stored it, except that of Cap- 
tain Andres de Vnsconcellos, which arrived late in the evening. 
All the clothes, medicines, instruments, books, much of the 
armor, all the pearls, the relics and robes of the priests, their 
flour and wine, used in the holy sacrament, with a thousand other 
things which a wilderness could not supply, perished in the 
flames. The Mobilians were nearly all destroyed. Garcellasso 



42 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



asserts that above eleven thousand were slain. The Portuguese 
Gentleman sets down the number at two thousand five hundred 
killed within the walls alone. Assuming a point between the 
two estimates, it is safe to say that at least six thousand were 
killed in the town and upon the plains, or were after- 
1540 wards found dead in the woods. These authors also 
Oct. 18 disagree as to the fate of Tuscaloosa — the one contend- 
ing that he was consumed in the flames, and the other 
that he decamped upon the arrival of Moscoso, at the solicita- 
tion of his people, attended by a small guard, and laden with 
rich Spanish spoils. It is more probable that the Black Warrior 
remained in his capital, desiring not to survive the downfall of 
his people .* 

Upon the ruins of Maubila the Spaniards passed the first 
night, in confusion and pain, sending forth groans and cries that 
fell upon the distant air like the ravings of the damned ! In 
every direction a sickening and revolting sight was presented. 
In the slowly receding fire, piles of brave Mobihans cracked and 
fried upon the glowing coals ! Upon the great square, pyramids 
of bodies, smeared with blood and brains, lay still unburnt. Out- 
side the walls, hundreds lay in the sleep of death, still hot from 
their last desperate exertions, and copiously bleeding from the 
large orifices made by lances and swords, and discoloring the 
beautiful grounds upon which they had so often sported 
1540 in their native games. All the Spaniards were wounded 
Oct. 18 except the holy fathers, and were, besides, exhausted, 
famished, and intoxicated with the most fiendish des- 
peration. Seventeen hundred dangerous wounds demanded im- 
mediate attention. It was often that a soldier had a dozen se- 
vere ones, with barbed arrows rankling in his flesh. But one 
surgeon of the expedition survived, and he was slow and un- 
skillful. Everything, in his department, was devoured by the 

* In describing the battle of Maubila, I have carefully consulted the Portuguese 
Narrative and Garcellasso. I find that they are, in the main, sustained by Biedma. 
See Garcellasso, pp. 312-331— Portuguese Narrative, pp. 722-725— Biedma, pp. 74-78. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 43 

terrible element. Those who were slightly wounded, adminis- 
tered to those whom the Indians had pierced deepest. As the 
soldiers of Cortez did in Mexico, they opened the bodies of some 
of the savages, and with the fat obtained, bound up the wounds 
with bandages torn from the garments of the soldiers who were 
killed. Others rushed to the woods, obtained straw and boughs, 
and formed against the walls beds and imperfect covering for the 
wounded and dying. Although severely pierced himself with 
arrows, and bruised with missiles, yet the generous De Soto un- 
selfishly gave his whole attention to his men. During 
that miserable night, many of the unhappy Spaniards 1540 
joined the priests in fervent appeals to their Heavenly Oct. 18 
Father for the alleviation of their wretched condition. 

They remained within the walls eight days, and then re- 
moved to the Indian huts upon the plain. De Soto sent out 
foraging detachments, who found the villages abounding in pro- 
visions. In the woods and ravines, Indians were found dead, 
and others lay wounded. The latter were treated with kindness 
by the Spaniards, who fed them and dressed their wounds. Fe- 
males of incomparable beauty were captured upon these excur- 
sions, and added to those who were taken at the close of the bat- 
tle. From them, the Governor was astounded to learn the deep 
schemes which Tuscaloosa had planned to capture his army, 
weeks before his arrival at Maubila. To the Tallases, who com- 
plained to him that their Chief had given their people to De 
Soto as slaves, he replied : " Fear nothing ; I shall shortly send 
the Spaniards back from my country to Tallase in chains, led by 
your people whom they have enslaved. 1 ' 

The priests, monks, and best informed laymen, went into 
convention to determine the propriety of substituting corn meal 
for flour in the celebration of Mass. They decided that bread 
made of pure wheat, and wine of the juice of the grape, were re- 
quired for consecration. After this, the fathers, in lieu of the 



44 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



chalices, altar dresses, chasubles, and other sacred ornaments, 
which had been consumed by fire, made some robes of dressed 
deer skins, erected rude altars and read the introitus and other 
prayers of the Mass on Sundays and feasts, omitting the conse- 
cration. This unusual ceremony was denominated the Dry Mass. 
While referring to the religious exercises of the Spaniards, 
it is proper to allude to some of their vices. Upon the whole 
journey from Tampa Bay to this place, they had passed much of 
their leisure time in gambling. This vice was common to all 
classes ; those of rank often bet high, staking their 
1540 money, jewels, horses, effects, and even their female 
Oct. slaves ! The fire of Maubila destroyed their cards. 
They now made others of parchment, painted them 
with admirable skill, and loaned these packs from one company 
to another, continuing to gamble under trees, upon the river 
banks, and in their rude huts. 

The report which De Soto had received upon his first arrival 
at Maubila, that Maldinado and his vessels awaited him at the 
bay of Pensacola, was now fully confirmed by the females whom 
he had captured. Refreshed by this good news, which deter- 
mined him to plant a colony in the wilderness, he dismissed a 
Chief of that country whom Maldinado had brought into his 
camp, while at Apalache Anaica. He had always treated him 
with kindness, and they parted upon the most friendly terms. 
The Chief set out for Ochus. When it became known in camp 
that the ships had arrived, joy succeeded the sadness which had 
universally prevailed. Some of the most distinguished cavaliers 
secretly talked of sailing from Ochus to Spain, and others to 
Peru, each resolved upon quitting De Soto and his fortunes. He 
heard of the conspiracy with painful solicitude, and determined 
to ascertain if it was founded in seriousness. One dark night he 
disguised himself and cautiously moved about the camp. 
1540 Approaching the hut of Juan Caitan, the treasurer, he 
Nov. overheard an earnest conversation, which satisfied him 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 45 

of the truth of what had been intimated. De Soto was 
startled at the faithless schemers. It altered his plans. He now 
dreaded to march to Ochus, for he well knew that some of these 
cavaliers had once deserted Pizarro, leaving him on the island of 
Gorgonne. He reflected, that his means were exhausted, his 
hopes of finding a gold country, thus far, blasted, and that he 
had nothing to tempt the cupidity of recruits; even the pearls, 
all he had to exhibit of his discoveries, having shared the fate of 
the other^ effects. These things, connected with a desire to 
thwart the plans of the conspirators, influenced him to turn his 
back upon his ships, laden with provisions, clothes, arms, and 
everything which the whole army needed. 

De Soto became gloomy and morose. Sometimes, in the 
midst of his desponding fits, a hope of yet finding a gold 
region shot across his mind, but, like a flashing meteor, it ex- 
ploded in darkness, leaving him in deeper despair! He resolved, 
however, to strike into the wilderness. The wounded had recov- 
ered enough to march, and he gave orders to break up the camp. 
On Sunday, the 18th of November, 1540, a direction was assumed 
to the north. The order fell like a clap of thunder upon 
the unwilling cavaliers. But they obeyed, for he threat- 1540 
ened to put to death the first man who should even Nov. 18 
think of Maldinado and his ships.* The expedition 
traversed an extremely fertile, but uninhabited country, called Pa- 
fallaya, now embraced in the counties of Clarke, Marengo and 
Greene, and, at the expiration of five days, passed the town of 
Talepataua, and reached another called Cabusto. This was " near 
a river, wide, deep, and with high bluffs."f The Spaniards had 
now arrived upon the Black Warrior, and near the modern town 
of Erie. Fifteen hundred Indians advanced in battle array, 

* De Soto had no doubt determined to settle a colony in the province of Coosa. The 
desperate resolution, now formed, of again plunging into unknown regions, was unfor- 
tunate for him and his followers, and for the historians of Alabama. A colony in Ala- 
bama, at that early period, would have afforded many rich historic incidents. 

t "Etoit sur un fleuve, grand, profond et haut de bord." Garcellasso, p. 348. The 
American rivers, of ordinary size, appeared large to the Spaniards, and do even now to 
all Europeans. 



46 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



shouting that a war of "fire and blood" was what they desired. 
They remembered the destruction of their friends at Maubila, 
and they were determined to be revenged. Severe skirmishing 
ensued. The Spaniards drove the savages into the river ; some 
crossed over in canoes and others swam, and on the opposite side 
they were joined by a force estimated at eight thousand. For 
six miles they stretched along the western bank to oppose the 
crossing of the army. De Soto occupied Cabusto, and was at- 
tacked every night by detachments of the enemy, who came over 
secretly in canoes from different directions, and sprang upon him. 
He at length caused ditches to be cut near the landings, in which 
he posted cross-bow men and those armed with arquebuses. Af- 
ter the Indians were repulsed three times from these intrench- 
ments, they ceased to annoy the Spaniards at night. In the 
meantime, one hundred men completed in the woods two large 
boats. They were placed upon sledges, and by the force of 
horses and mules, and with the assistance of the soldiers, were 
conveyed to a convenient landing one and a half miles up the 
river, and launched before clay. Ten cavalry and forty infantry 
entered each of these boats, the former keeping the saddle while 
the latter rowed rapidly across. Five hundred Indians rushed 
down the banks and overwhelmed the voyagers with arrows. 
However, the boats reached the shore, one of them com- 
1540 ing to with great difficulty. The soldiers, all of whom 
Nov. were wounded, sprang out, and, headed by the impetu- 
ous Silvestre and Garcia, charged the Indians with great 
resolution. A severe conflict continued until the boats returned 
and brought over De Soto with eighty men, who, joining in the 
fight, forced the Indians to retreat to a distant forest. The ad- 
vanced wing keeping off the enemy, the whole army soon crossed 
the river. When all were over, the Indians were driven to their 
first position, which they had strengthened with pallisades, 
and from which they continually sallied, skirmishing with the 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 47 

invaders until the sun was lost behind the hills * Upon the 
Warrior, De Soto found a delightful country, with towns and 
villages well supplied with corn, beans and other provisions. The 
next day he caused the boats to be broken up, for the iron which 
they contained, and the expedition inarched in a northern direc- 
tion, passing through a portion of Greene and Pickens. After 
rive days they reached the Little Tombigby, somewhere in the 
county of Lowndes, Mississippi. Here the Indians had collected 
to dispute the passage. Having recently suffered so severely in 
contentions with the natives of Alabama, De Soto felt unwilling 
to expose his army to further loss. Halting two days for the con- 
struction of a small boat, he despatched in it an Indian, who bore 
a message to the Chief, with offers of peace and friendship. Im- 
mediately upon reaching the opposite bank, the poor fellow was 
seized and barbarously killed, in the sight of the Governor. His 
murderers then rent the air with terrific yells and dispersed. De 
Soto conducted his troops unmolested across the river, and 
marched until he arrived at the town of Chickasa, in the province 
of that name. It consisted of two hundred houses, and reposed 
upon a hill extending towards the north, shaded by oak and wal- 
nut trees, and watered by several rivulets. The Spaniards had 
now reached the territory embraced in the county of Yalobusha. 
The region was fertile, well-peopled and dotted with villages. 
The cold weather set in with much severity. In the 
midst of snow and ice, the army encamped upon the 1540 
fields opposite the town, until houses could be erected ; Nov. 
for here De Soto had determined to pass the winter. 
Foraging parties scoured the country, collected provisions, and 
captured Indians. The latter were invariably dismissed, with 
presents for their Chief. 

The Chief at length came to see De Soto, and offered him his 
lands, person and subjects. He returned, shortly after, with two 
neighboring Chiefs — Alibamo and Nicalaso. The august trio 

♦Portuguese Narrative, p. 725. Garcellasso, pp. 348-352. 



48 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

gave the Adelantado one hundred and fifty rabbits, besides man- 
tles and skins. The Chief of Chickasa became a frequent visitor, 
and De Soto often sent him home on one of the horses. Having 
besought the General to aid him in overcoming a prominent and 

rebellious subject, for the purpose of dividing and de- 
1541 stroying the army, as was afterwards ascertained, De 
Jan. Soto marched, with thirty horsemen and two hundred 

Indians, upon Saquechuma, and destroyed that place by 
fire. Upon their return to the camp, the principal Indians were 
feasted upon the flesh of the swine. They were pleased with the 
first dish of an animal never before seen, and from that time the 
place where the hogs were kept was often broken in upon dark 
nights and many stolen. Three of the rogues were caught on one 
occasion and two of them put to death. The hands of the other 
were chopped off, and in that painful and helpless situation he was 
sent to his Chief- On the other side, the Spaniards robbed the In- 
dians. One day four horsemen, Francisco Osario, a servant of the 
Marquis of Astorga, called Raynoso, Ribera, the page of the Gov- 
ernor, and Fuentes, his chamberlain, entered a neighboring village 
and forcibly carried off some valuable skins and mantles. The 
enraged Indians forscok their town and went into the woods to 
prepare for war. The robbers were arrested, and Fuentes and 
Osario were condemned to die. The priests and some of the most 
distinguished cavaliers pleaded, in vain, for the pardon of the lat- 
ter. De Soto had them brought out to have their heads chopped 
off, when Indians arrived with a message from the Chief, inform- 
ing him of the outrage upon his people. At the suggestion of 
Baltasar de Gallegos, the interpreter cunningly turned it to the 
advantage of the prisoners. He said to De Soto that the Chief 

desired him not to execute the robbers, for they had not 

1541 molested his subjects. He said to the Indian ambassa- 

March dors that they might return home well assured that the 

plunderers would be immediately put to death, accord- 



DE SOTO IX ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 49 

ing to the wishes of the Chief. The prisoners, in consequence 
were all set at liberty, much to the joy of the army.* 

Upon the appearance of March, 1541, the thoughts of the 
unhappy De Soto occasionally turned upon pursuing the journey. 
He demanded of the Chief two hundred men for burden bearers. 
An evasive answer was given, and for several days the Governor 
was apprehensive of an attack. He posted sentinels, under the 
supervision of Moscoso. One dark night, when the cold wind 
was howling awfully, the Chickasaws rushed upon the camp, in 
four squadrons, sending up yells the most terrific, and adding 
horror to the scene by the sound of wooden drums and the dis- 
cordant blasts of conch shells. The houses of the town, in which 
the larger portion of the troops now lodged, were set on fire by 
arrows containing burning matches, made of a vegetable sub- 
stance, which shot through the air like Hashing meteors and fell 
upon the roofs ! Constructed of straw and cane, the wigwams 
were soon wrapped in flames. The Spaniards, blinded by the 
smoke, ran out of the houses half dressed, and, in their dismay, 
knew not. the best way to oppose the assailants. Some of the 
horses were burned in the stables and others broke their halters, 
and running in all directions among the soldiers, increased the 
unparalleled confusion. Do Soto, and a soldier named Tapier, the 
first to mount, charged upon the enemy, the former being envel- 
oped in an overcoat, quilted with cotton three inches thick, to 
shield him from the arrows. His saddle, which, in the haste, had 
not been girted, turned with him in one of his sweeping bounds, 
and he fell heavily to the ground, at the moment his 
lance had pierced a savage. The soldiers drove off 1541 
the Indians, who had surrounded him with clubs, and March 
adjusted his saddle. Vaulting into it, he charged in 

* Poor Ortiz never reached his native country, but died in Arkansas. He was of great 
service as an interpreter. Understanding only the Floridian language, he conducted 
conversations through the Indians of different tribes who understood each other, and 
who attended the expedition. In conversing with the Chickasaws, for instance, he 
commenced with a Floridian. who carried the word to a Georgian, the Georgian to the 
Coosa, the Coosa to the Mobilian, and the latter to the Chickasaw. In the same tedious 
manner the answer was conveyed to him and reported to De Soto. 




T}4 

o 



a 
o 



o 
o 



it 
O 

o 

be 



o 



W 



2 
a 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 51 

the thickest of the enemy, and revelled in blood. The Span- 
iards were now seen, in all directions, engaged in a dreadful 
tight. Many, however, had just awoke, and now crawled 
upon their hands and knees out of the devouring flames above 
them. In a house, at some distance, lay the sick, and those 
who had not recovered from the wounds which they had re- 
ceived at Maubila and Cabusto. Hordes of savages pressed upon 
the poor fellows, and, before thev were rescued, several fell vic- 
tims. In the meantime, the cavaliers, some without saddles and 
others without clothes, joined the intrepid De Soto ; and now the 
awful wind, the flames, the yells and the clangour of arms, made 
the scene frightfully sublime, and the night one long to be re- 
membered. Fifty infantry took flight, which was the first in- 
stance of cowardice upon the march. Nuno Tobar, sword in 
hand, rushed before them, and with the assistance of a detach- 
ment of thirty men under Juan de Guzman, arrayed 
them against the enemy. At that instant, Andres de 1541 
Vasconcellos, at the head of twenty Portuguese hidalgos, March 
most of whom had served as horsemen upon the Afri- 
can frontier, accompanied by Nuno Tobar on foot, forced the 
savages to retire on one side of the town. At length the Indians 
fled from the battle field, and were pursued by De Soto and his 
troops as long as they could distinguish objects by the light of 
the burning town. Returning from the chase, the Governor 
found that the engagement had resulted in considerable loss. 
Forty Spaniards were killed, and among them the only white 
woman in camp, the wife of a soldier, whom she had followed 
from Spain. Fifty horses were lost, either burned or pierced 
with arrows. Dreading these singular quadrupeds in war, the 
Indians aimed at their entire destruction, and many were found 
shot entirely through in the most vital parts. The swine, the 
increase of which had often kept the Spaniards from starving, 
when hard pressed for food, were confined in a roofed enclosure, 
and a number of them were consumed by the fire. De Soto sur- 



52 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

veyed the scene with deep mortification. He blamed Moscoso 
for the unfortunate attack. His negligence here, reminded him 
of his tardy advance upon Maubila, and, in his anger, he deposed 
his old brother in arms from the rank of camp-master, and be- 
stowed it upon the bold Baltasar de Gallegos. A suc- 
1541 cession of losses had attended him since he crossed the 
March Alabama at Piache. Indeed, from his first landing at 
Tampa Bay, over three hundred men had fallen by the 
assaults of the natives. The fire at Chickasa swept the few things 
saved at Maubila, together with half their wearing apparel. And 
now many of the unfortunate soldiers shivered in the cold, with 
scarcely a vestige of clothing. 

In the fit of deep despondency into which he was thrown, De 
Soto did not forget the duties which a commanding officer owes 
to his suffering troops. The dead were buried and the wounded 
properly attended. The Indians, thick upon the plain, and upon 
the ruined town, remained, a prey for the hungry wolves and 
birds of carrion. The Spaniards abandoned the sickening spot, 
and encamped three miles distant, at Chickasilla, or little 
Chickasa, where they erected a forge and tempered their swords^ 
now seriously injured by the fire. They busied themselves in 
making shields, lances and saddles. The remainder of the 
winter was passed in great wretchedness. Intense cold 
and grievous wounds were not all they had to bear, but often the 
natives assailed them at night, with the agility and ferocity of 
tigers ! At sunset they were compelled to evacuate the town, 
and take position in the field, for fear that fire might be applied 
to the houses. The ingenuity of one of the soldiers devised mat- 
tings, four inches in thickness, made of long soft grass, in which 
those who were not upon guard wrapped themselves, and were 
somewhat protected from the piercing air. Often De Soto sent 
forth detachments, who cut down every Indian they overtook ; 
yet, in a few succeeding nights, the savages would return and 
attack the camp. Before daylight on Wednesday, the 15th 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 53 

March, 1541, Capt. Juan de Guzman, a man of delicate form, but 
of indomitable courage, was seized by the collar by an athletic 
Indian, who carried a banner, and jerked from his horse. The 
soldiers, rushing up, cut the bold fellow to pieces. Others dashed 
after the main body of Indians, and deep revenge would have 
been taken, if a monk, fearful that they would be led into an 
ambush, had not arrested the charge by the cry of, "To the camp ! 
to the camp ! " Forty Indians fell, two horses were killed, and 
two soldiers wounded. 

On the 25th of April, 1541, De Soto marched northwest, 
through a campaign country, thickly populated, and journeying 
twelve miles, halted in a plain not far from the town of 
Alibamo. Juan de Anasco, with a foraging party, came 1541 
in sight of this fortress, which was garrisoned by a large April 
number of savages, whose bodies were painted in stripes 
of white, black and red, while their faces were frightfully black- 
ened. Red circles surrounded their eyes. These, with head- 
dresses of feathers and horns, gave them a fantastic and ferocious 
appearance. The drums sounded alarums, and they rushed out 
of the fort with fearful whoops, forcing Anasco to retreat to the 
open fields. The enemy, scorning the inferiority of the detach- 
ment, pretended to knock one of the warriors in the head with a 
club, in front of the fort ; and swinging him by the head and 
heels near a fire, in insulting mockery, indicated the fate of the 
Spaniards who should fall into their hands. The irritated Anasco 
sent three troopers to the camp, who returned with De Soto at 
the head of a considerable force. The latter assaulted 
the fortress of Alibamo, leading on his men in three 1541 
squadrons, commanded by Guzman, Avaro Rorao de April 27 
Cardenoso, and the stout Gonzalo Silvestre. A hundred 
Alabamas poured out from each portal and met the Spaniards. 
Upon the first encounter, Diego de Castro, Louis Bravo and 
Francisco de Figarro fell, mortally wounded. An arrow struck 
the casque of the Governor with such force that it made his eyes 



45 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



flash fire. The victorious Spaniards forced the Alabamas into 
the fort, pressing them to death by the united shock of cavalry 
and infantry — the passes of the gates admitting but few of the In- 
dians at once. The soldiers remembered that they had united with 
the Chickasaws, and they knew no bounds to the revenge which 
they now sought. In the rear many savages escaped, by climbing 
over the walls and through the back portals, pitching into the river 
which ran by the fort, but far below its foundation. In a short 
time, De Soto held possession of the interior. Alibamo stood upon 
the Yazoo river, in the county of Tallahatchie* It was built of pal- 
lisades, in the form of a quadrangle, four hundred paces long on 
either side. Inner walls divided it into separate parts, enabling 
the besieged to retreat from one to the other. The centre wall, 
on the back side, was immediately upon a perpendicular bluff, 
beneath which flowed a deep and narrow river, across which were 
thrown a few rude bridges. Portions of the fort ap- 
1541 peared to have been recently constructed for defence 
Apr. 27 against the horses. It was decidedly the best fortified 
place yet discovered, except Maubila, but the garrison 
was greatly inferior in numbers to that of the latter. The out- 
side portals were too low and narrow for a cavalier to enter on 
his horse. 

De Soto crossed the river at a ford below the plain, and pur- 
sued the savages until twilight, leaving many of them in the sleep 
of death. Four days were consumed at Alibamo in attending to 



♦General Le Clerc Milfort, an intelligent Frenchman, lived in the Creek Nation 
from 1776 until 1799. He wrote a history of the Muscogees or Creeks, and published his 
work in Paris in 1802. He married the sister of General Alexander McGillivray, of the 
Creek tribe. When he arrived in France Bonaparte made him a General of Brigade, and 
in 1814 he was attacked in his house by a party of Russians, and rescued by some grena- 
diers. Shortly afterwards he died. 

Milfort states that the Alabamas wandered from the northern part of Mexico, and 
settled upon the Yazoo, and afterwards removed to the river which bears their name. 
This fact, connected with that of the Alibamo fort, mentioned by the journals of De 
Soto, establishes conclusively that they were the same people. The Alabamas, after De 
Soto's time, settled on the site of the modern Montgomery, Coosawdaand Washington, 
below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. From these people the river and 
State took their name. » 

" Memoire ou coup d'ceil rapide sur mes differens voyages et mon sejour dans la Na- 
tion Creek, par Le Clerc Milfort."— pp. 229-288. 



DE SOTO IN ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI. 55 

the wounded. Fifteen Spaniards died — among them the cava- 
liers first wounded, who were young, valiant, and of the best 
blood of Spain. So terminated the battle of Alibamo, the last one 
of the many De Soto fought, which it is within our province to 
describe. We have followed that extraordinary adventurer 
through our State into the heart of Mississippi. A few more 
words must close the account of his nomadic march, as far as it 
rests in our hands. 

The Spaniards reached the Mississippi river in May, 1541, 
and were the first to discover it, unless Cabaca de Vaca crossed 
it twelve years before in wandering to Mexico with his four com- 
panions, which is not probable from the evidence afforded by his 
journal. De Soto consumed a year in marching over Arkansas, 
and returned to the " Father of Waters," at the town of Guachaya. 
below the mouth of the Arkansas river, on the last of 
May, 1542. He here engaged in the construction of two 1542 
brigantines to communicate with Cuba. That great May 
man, whose spirits had long since forsaken him — who 
had met with nothing but disappointments — and who had, in 
his most perilous wanderings, discovered no country like Peru 
and Mexico — became sick with a slow and malignant fever. 
He appointed Moscoso to the command — bid his officers and 
soldiers farewell — exhorted them to keep together, in order to 
reach that country which he was destined never to see — and 
then closed his eyes in dj:ath! Thus died Hernando De 
Soto, one of the most distinguished captains of that or any age. 
To conceal his death and protect his body from Indian brutali- 
ties, he was placed in an oaken trough, and silently plunged into 
the middle of the Mississippi, on a dark and gloomy night. Long 
did the muddy waters wash the bones of one of the bravest sons 
of Spain ! He was the first to behold that river — the first to close 
his eyes in death upon it — and the first to find a grave in its deep 
and turbid channel. 

Moscoso and the remaining troops again plunged into the 



56 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



wilderness west of the Mississippi, with the hope of reaching 
Mexico. Departing on the 1st of June, 1542, he returned on the 
1st of December to the Mississippi river, at a point fifty miles 
above the place where De Soto died. The Spaniards began the 
construction of seven brigantines, the building of which required 
the chains of the slaves, saddle-stirrups, and every thing which 
contained a particle of iron, made into nails by the erection of 
forges, the Indian mantles stitched together for sails, and the in- 
ner bark of trees made into ropes. When these were completed, 
Gov. Moscoso departed down the vast stream, the 2d of July, 
1543. The once splendid army of one thousand men was re- 
duced to three hundred and twenty ! Five hundred 
1543 slaves were left at the place of embarkation, and Mos- 
July 2 coso took with him one hundred, among others the 
beautiful women of Maubila. Twenty-two of the best 
horses were embarked; the others were killed and dried for food, 
as were the hogs, a large number of which still remained. The 
Spaniards were attacked, in descending the river, by fleets of In- 
dian canoes. In one of these engagements, the brave Guzman 
and eleven others were drowned, and twenty-five wounded. In 
sixteen days they reached the Gulf, and put to sea on the 18th 
July, 1543. Having landed at Tampa Bay on the 30th of May, 
1539, they had consumed a little over four years in wandering 
through Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and the vast re- 
gions of the Arkansas Territory. Tossed by the waves, fam- 
ished with hunger, parched with thirst, and several times wrecked 
by tornadoes, the poor Spaniards finally reached the mouth of the 
river Panuco, upon the Mexican coast, on the 10th September, 
1543. From thence they went to the town of Panuco. Appareled 
in skins of deer, buffalo, bear and other animals — with faces hag- 
gard, blackened, shriveled, and but faintly resembling 
1543 human beings — they repaired to the church and offered 
Sept. 13 up thanks to God for the preservation of their lives. 
Repairing to the City of Mexico, the Viceroy extended 



DE SOTO IX ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI, 57 

to them every hospitality. So did the elegant Castilian ladies of 
his court, who were enraptured with the beauty of Mobilian 
females — the high-spirited daughters of Alabama.* 

Maldinado, whom we left at Pensacola Bay, awaited, in 
vain, the arrival of De Soto. He and his distinguished asso- 
ciate, Gomez Arias, at length weighed anchor and sailed 
along the coast in different directions, hoping to meet the expe- 
dition at some point. They left signals upon the trees, and at- 
tached letters to the bark. Returning to Cuba, they again 
sailed in search of De Soto in the summer of 1541, and touched 
frequently upon the Floridian and Mexican coasts, but heard 
nothing of him. Again, in the summer of 1542, they made a 
similar voyage, with no better success. Determined not to give 
up the search for the lost Spaniards, Maldinado and 
Arias, in the spring of 1543, departed on a long voyage. 1543 
On the 15tn of October they touched at Vera Cruz, and Oct. 15 
learned that De Soto had died upon the Mississippi, 
and that three hundred of his army only had lived to reach Mex- 
ico. When this sad intelligence was conveyed to Havana, every 
one grieved, and Dona Isabel, long racked with anxiety, died of a 
broken heart! 

•An interesting account of the expedition, from the battle of Alibamo to their en- 
trance into the city of Mexico, which 1 have rapidly glanced at, may be found in the 
Portuguese Narrative, pp. 728-762; barcellasso de la Vega, pp. 372-557. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Aborigines of Alabama and the Surrounding States. 

The Indians of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi 
were so similar in form, mode of living and general habits, in the 
time of De Soto and of others who succeeded him in penetrating 
these wilds, that they will all be treated, on the pages of this 
chapter, as one people. The color was like that of the 
1540 Indians of our day. The males were admirably propor- 
tioned, athletic, active and graceful in their movements, 
and possessed open and manly countenances. The females, not in- 
ferior in form, were smaller, and many of them beautiful. No 
ugly or ill-formed Indians were seen, except at the town of Tula, 
west of the Mississippi. Corpulency was rare; nevertheless, it 
was excessive in a few instances. In the neighborhood of Apa- 
lache, in Florida, the Chief was so fat that he was compelled to 
move about his house upon his hands and knees. 

The dress of the men consisted of a mantle of the size of 
a common blanket, made of the inner bark of trees, and a 
species of flax, interwoven. It was thrown over the shoulders, 
with the right arm exposed. One of these mantles encircled the 
body of the female, commencing below the breast and extending 
nearly to the knees, while another was gracefully thrown over 
the shoulders, also with the right arm exposed. Upon 
1540 the St. John's river, the females, although equally ad- 
vanced in civilization, appeared in a much greater state 
of nudity — often with no covering in summer, except a moss 
drapery suspended round the waist, and which hung down in 
graceful negligence. Both sexes there were, however, adorned 
with ornaments, consisting of pretty shells and shining pearls, 



X 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STATES. 59 

while the better classes wore moccasins and buskins of dressed 
deer leather. In Georgia and Alabama the towns contained 
store-houses, rilled with rich and comfortable clothing, such as 
mantles of hemp, and of feathers of every color, exquisitely ar- 
ranged, forming admirable cloaks for winter; with a 
variety of dressed deer skin garments, and skins of the 1540 
martin, bear and panther, nicely packed away in bas- 
kets.* Fond of trinkets, the natives collected shells from the 
seaside, and pearls from the beds of the interior rivers. The 
latter they pierced with heated copper spindles, and strung them 
around their legs, necks and arms.f The Queen upon the Sa- 
vannah took from her neck a magnificent cordon of pearls, and 
twined it round the neck of the warlike but courteous De Soto.t 
In the interior of the country, pearls were worn in the 
ears ; but upon the coast, fish bladders, inflated after 1564 
they had been inserted, were greatly preferred. § The 
Chiefs and their wives, the Prophets and principal men, painted 
their breasts and the front part of their bodies with a variety of 
stripes and characters. Others, like sea-faring people, had their 
skins punctured with bone needles and indelible ink 
rubbed in, which gave them the appearance of being 1539 
tattooed. || Jean Ortiz, so long a prisoner among the 
Floridians, when discovered by De Soto, was taken for an 
Indian, on account of his body being "razed" in this manner. IT 

* Portuguese Narrative, p. 711. 

t Portuguese Narrative, p. 701. 

% Portuguese Narrative, p. 714. 

\ Le Moyne's Florida plate, 38. Renaudde Laudouniere, an admiral of France, made 
a second voyage to Florida, and landed upon its shore in 15G4. Attached to this expe- 
dition was a Frenchman, named Jacob Le Moyne. who was an admirable painter. 
Laudouniere left some soldiers at a Fort which he built upon the St. John's, and with 
them this accomplished artist. Le Aloyne was frequently despatched with small de- 
tachments along the coast, and at some distance in the interior, to make surveys of the 
rivers and to cultivate the friendship of the natives. During these excursions he made 
admirable drawings of the Indians, their houses, farms, games, amusements, manners, 
customs and religious ceremonies. Returning to France, lie related his adventures to 
Charles IX.. and exhibited to him his pictures. These, with his explanatory notes, 
were published by Theodore de Bry, in 1591, in the Latin language, at Frankfort. The 
copy in my possession, a most interesting book upon the ancient Indians of Florida and 
the adjoining States, contains forty-two plates, a few specimens of which are intro- 
duced in this volume. 

|| Le Moyne, plate 38. U Portuguese Narrative, p. 702. 



60 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



It will be remembered that the Alabamas, upon the Yazoo, 
painted in stripes of white, yellow, blacK and red, and 
"seemed as though they were dressed in hose and doublets."* 
Lofty plumes of the feathers of the eagle, and other noted birds, 
adorned the heads of the warriors. At the battle of Vitachuco, 
in Middle Florida, ten thousand warriors appeared in this mag- 
nificent native head-dress. They also punished and deformed 
themselves in the display of their more peculiar ornaments. 

Upon an island in West Florida, they wore reeds thrust 
1528 through their nipples and under lips.f Indian grandees 

were often seen promenading, of an evening, enveloped 
in beautiful mantles of deer skins and of the martin, trailing be- 
hind them, and often held up by attendants. Among the pretti- 
est ornaments were flat shells, of varied colors, which they sus- 
pended from girdles around their waists, and which hung down 
around their hips. 

The bow, the most formidable weapon of the ancient Indians, 

was long, elastic, and exceedingly strong. The string 
1540 was made of the sinews of the deer. The arrows, of 

strong young cane, hardened before the fire, were often 
tipped with buck horn, and invariably pointed either with palm 
or other hard wood, flints, long and sharp like a dagger, fish 
bones shaped like a chisel, or diamond flints.}: The Spaniards 
soon ascertained that they pierced as deep as those which they 
themselves shot from the cross-bow, and were discharged more 
rapidly. § The quiver which held them was made of fawn or 
some other spotted skin, and was cased at the lower end with 

thick hide of the bear or alligator. It was always sus- 
15(>4 pended by a leather strap, passing round the neck, 

which permitted it to rest on the left hip, like a sword. 
It was capable of holding a great many arrows. Shields were 

♦Portuguese Narrative, p. 727. 

tExpecfition of Narvaez, coutained in Herrera's History of America, vol. 4, p. 33. 

+Garcellasso de la Vega, p. 266. §Portuguese Narrative, p. 102. 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STATES. 61 

universal appendages in war, and were made either of wood, split 
canes strongly interwoven, alligator hide, and sometimes that of 
buffalo. The latter was often the case west of the Mississippi. 
Of various sizes, but ordinarily large enough to cover the breast, 
these round shields were painted with rings and stripes, and sus- 
pended from the neck by a band. Sometimes a noted Chief pro- 
tected his breast and a portion of his abdomen with three of 
them. These, with a piece of bark covering the left arm, to pre- 
vent the severe rebound of the bow-string, were all that shielded 
the natives in time of war. Wooden spears, of the usual length, 
pointed with excellent darts of fish-bone or flint, were, also, much 
used. And, strange to say, swords of palm wood, of the proper 
shape, were often seen. A Chief, in Georgia, seized one of this de- 
scription, which was borne by one of his servants, and began to cut 
and thrust with it to the admiration of De Soto and his officers. 
The war clubs were of two kinds — one, small at the handle, gradu- 
ally enlarging at the top in oval form; and the other, with two sharp 
edges at the end, usually employed in executions. Decoration 
with plumes, appears to have been more common in general cos- 
tume and pleasure excursions, than in war. In enterprises of the 
latter character, the natives sought to appear as ferocious as pos- 
sible. The skins of the eagle, of the wolf and of the panther, 
with the heads of these animals attached, and well 
preserved, were worn by warriors, while the talons and 1564 
claws were inserted as ear ornaments.* 

When about to make war, a Chief despatched a party, who 
approached near the town of the enemy, and by night stuck ar- 
rows into the cross-paths and public places, with long locks of 
human hair waving from them.t After this declaration of war, 
he assembled his men, who, painted and decorated in the most 
fantastic and frightful manner, surrounded him on all sides. Ex- 
cited with seeming anger, he rolled his eyes, spoke in guttural 

* Le Moyne, plates 11, 12, 13, 14. \ Le Moyne, plate 33. 



62 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



accents, and often sent forth tremendous war whoops. The war- 
riors responded in chorus, and struck their weapons against their 
sides. With a wooden spear he turned himself reverentially to- 
wards the sun, and implored of that luminary victory over his 

enemies. Turning to his men, he took water from a 
1564 vessel on his right and sprinkled it about, saying, " Thus 

may you do with the blood of your enemies." Then rais- 
ing another vessel of water, he poured its entire contents on a 
fire which had been kindled on his left, and repeated, "Thus may 
you destroy your enemies and bring home their scalps."* Hav- 
ing marched his army within the vicinity of the enemy, he bid 
his prophet to inform him of their number and position, and in 
what manner it was best to bring on the attack. The old man, 
usually a hundred years of age, advanced, and a large circle 
was immediately formed around him. He placed a shield upon 
the ground, drew a ring around it five feet in diameter, in which 
he inscribed various characters. Then kneeling on the shield, 
and sitting on his feet, so as to touch the earth with no part of 
his body, he made the most horrible grimaces, uttered the most 

unnatural howls, and distorted his limbs until his very 
1564 bones appeared to be flexible. In twenty minutes he 

ceased his infernal juggling, assumed his natural look, 
with apparently no fatigue, and gave the Chief the information 
which he desired. t Some of our ancient natives marched in reg- 
ular order, with the Chief in the centre, but it was their common 
habit to scatter in small parties, and take the enemy by surprise. 
But in the arrangement of their camp, which was always made 
at sunset, they were exceedingly particular. They then stationed 
detachments around the Chief, forming a compact and well-ar- 
ranged defence.t 

The women who had lost their husbands in battle, at a con- 
venient time surrounded the Chief, stooped at his feet, cov- 

*Le Moyne, plate 11. t Le Moyne, plate 12. J Le Moyne, plate 14. 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STATES. 63 

ered their faces with their hands, wept, and implored him to 
be revenged for the death of their companions. They en- 
treated him to grant them an allowance during their widow- 
hood, and to permit them to marry again when the time ap- 
pointed by law expired. They afterwards visited the graves of 
their husbands and deposited upon them the arms which they 
used in hunts and wars, and the shells out of which they were 
accustomed to drink. Having cut off their long hair, they 
sprinkled it also over their graves, and then returned home. 
They did not marry until it had attained its ordinary length* 

The natives drank a tea, which, in modern times, was called 
black drink. It was made by boiling the leaves of the cacina 
plant until a strong decoction was produced. The Chief took his 
seat, made of nine small poles, in the centre of a semi-circle of 
seats; but his was the most elevated of all. His principal officers 
approached him by turns, one at a time, and placing their hands 
upon the top of their heads, sung ha, he, ya, ha, ha. The whole 
assembly responded, ha, ha. After which they seated themselves 
upon his right and left. The women, in the meantime, had pre- 
pared the black drink, which was served up in conch shells and 
handed to certain men, who distributed it around. The warriors 
drank large portions of it, and presently vomited it 
with great ease. It seemed to have been used at the 1564 
early period of 1564, as it is at present, to purify the 
system, and to tultill a kind of religious rite.f 

The punishments of that day were summary and cruel. For 
a crime deserving death, the criminal was conducted to the square 
and made to kneel with his body inclined forward. The execu- 
tioner placed his left foot upon his back, and with a murderous 
blow with the sharp-sided club, dashed out his brains. % 
Jean Ortiz and his companions were stripped naked, 1564 
and forced to run from corner to corner through the 



*Le Moyne, plate 19. t Le Mnyne's Florida, Plate 29. 

+ Le Moyne' s Florida, plate 32. 



G4 



HISTORY OF ALA1JAMA. 



town while the exulting savages shot at them by turns with 
deadly arrows. Ortiz alone survived, and they next proceeded 

to roast him upon a wooden gridiron, when he was saved 
1539-40 by the entreaties of a noble girl.* Whenever they made 

prisoners of each other, those who were captured were 
often put to menial services. To prevent them from running 
away, it was customary to cut the nerves of their legs just above 
the instep. t 

When a battle was fought, the victors seized upon the enemy 
mid mutilated their bodies in the most brutal manner. With 
cane knives the arms and legs were cut around, and then severed 
from the body by blows upon the bones, from wooden cleavers. 
They thus amputated with great skill and rapidity. The head was 
also out around, with these knives, just above the ears, and the 
whole scalp jerked off. These were then rapidly smoked over a 
fire, kindled in a small round hole, and borne off in triumph 
toward home, together with the arms and legs, suspended upon 

spears. $ The joyous and excited inhabitants now as- 
15G4 sembled upon the square and formed a large area, in which 

these trophies were hung upon high poles. An old Prophet 
took a position on one side of the circle, held in his hand a small 
image of a child, and danced and muttered over it a thousand impre- 
cations upon the enemy. On the other side, and opposite to him, 
three warriors fell upon their knees. One of them, who was in the 
middle, constantly brought down a club, with great force, on a 
smooth si one, placed before him, while the others, on either side 
of him, rattled gourds rilled with shells and pebbles, all keeping 
time with the Prophet.§ 

The houses of the Chiefs, with but few exceptions, stood 
upon large and elevated artificial mounds. When the Indians 
of 1540 resolved to build a town, the site of which Avas usually 

• Garcellasso <!»• la Vega. i Garcellaaao de la Vega. 

t Le Moyne, plate L5. § Le DIoyne, plate 10. 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STATES. 65 

selected upon low, rich land, by the side of a beautiful stream, 
they were accustomed, first, to turn their attention to the erec- 
tion of a mound from twenty to fifty feet high, round on the 
sides, but flat on top. The top was capable of sustaining the 
houses of the Chief, and those of his family and attendants ; 
making a little village by itself of from ten to twenty cabins, ele- 
vated high in the air. The earth to make this mound was 
brought to the spot. At the foot of this eminence a square was 
marked out, around which the principal men placed their 
houses. The inferior classes joined these with their wigwams. 
Some of these mounds had several stairways to ascend 
them, made by cutting out incline-planes fifteen or 
twenty feet wide, flanking the sides with posts, and 1540 
laying poles horizontally across the earthen steps — thus 
forming a kind of wooden stairway. But, generally, the lofty 
residence of the Chief was approached by only one flight of steps. 
These mounds were perpendicular, and inaccessible, except by 
the avenues already mentioned, which rendered the houses upon 
them secure from the attacks of an Indian enemy. Besides the 
motive for security, a disposition to place the Chief and his fam- 
ily in acommanding position, and to raise him above his subjects, 
caused the formation of these singular elevations.* 

Upon the coasts of Florida, the houses were built of timber, 
covered with palm leaves, and thatched with straw. Those of 
Toali, between Apalache and the Savannah, and for some dis- 
tance beyond, were covered with reeds in the manner of tiles, 
while the walls were extremely neat. In the colder regions of 
the territories of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, every family 
possessed a house daubed inside and out with clay, for a winter 
house, and another, open all around, for summer; while a crib 
and kitchen, also, stood near by. The houses of the 
Chiefs, much larger than the others, had piazzas in front, 1540 
in the rear of which were cane benches of comfortable 

•Garcellasso de la Vega, p. 136. 



66 HISTORY OV ALABAMA. 



dimensions. They contained, also, lofts, in which were stored 
skins, mantles, and corn, the tribute of the subjects .* Upon the 
head waters of the Coosa, it will be recollected, that De Soto 
found the house of the Chief standing upon a mound, with 
a piazza in front, "large enough for six men to prome- 
enade abreast/ 1 f The town of Ochille, in Middle Florida, 
contained fifty very substantial houses. The Chief's house 
was built in the form of a large pavilion, upwards of one 
hundred and twenty feet in length by forty in width, with 
a number of small buildings, connected like offices. t Narvaez 
found a house large enough to contain three hundred men, in 
which were fishing nets and a tabor with gold bells. § The In- 
dian grandeur and spacious dimensions of the houses 

1528 of Maubila, in Alabama, have already been described. 
In the province of Pali se ma, west of the Mississippi, the 

house of the Chief was covered with deer skins, which were 
painted with stripes of various colors, and with animals, while 
the w r alls were hung, and the floor carpeted, witli the same ma- 
terials. || In the first town which De Soto discovered, at Tampa 
Bay, was found a large temple, on the top of which was a wooden 
bird with gilded eyes. IT The Chief, Uceta, made Jean Ortiz 

keeper of the temple, situated in a lonely forest in the 
15:29 outskirts of the town. In this temple were deposited 

deaa Indians, contained in wooden boxes, the lids of 
which, having no hinges, were kept down with weights. The 
bodies and bones were sometimes carried off by panthers and 
wolves. In this horrible place was poor Ortiz stationed to 
watch, day and night, and threatened with instant death if he 
allowed a single body to be taken away. At length, constant 
anxiety and fatigue overcame him, and one night he fell asleep. 

The heavy falling ot a coffin-lid awoke him. In his ter- 

1529 ror he seized a bow, and running out, heard the crack- 
ling of bones amid a dark clump of bushes ! He winged 

* Portuguese Narrative, p. 701. t Garcellasso do la Vega, p. 294. 

t GarceUasBo do la Vega. p. 101. § Herrera, vol. 4. 

II Portuguese Narrative. f Portuguese Narrative, p. 701. 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STAT] 67 



a powerful arrow In tbat direction. A scuffle ensued, and then 

all was still! He moved towards the spot, and found an enor- 
mous panther, dead, by the side of the body of the child. He re- 
placed the latter in its box. exultingly dragged the animal into 
the town, and was from that time respected by the Indians.* 
Narvaez, upon first Landing in Florida, found a temple 
in which were chests, each containing a dead body, cov- l. r )'28 
ered with painted deer skins. The Commissary, John 
Xuarez, considering it to be idolatrous, ordered them to be 
burned. f A remarkable temple was situated in the town of 
Talomeco, upon the Savannah river, three miles distant from 
Cutifachiqui, now Silver Bluff. It was more than one hundred 
feet in length, and forty in width. The walls were high in pro- 
portion, and the root .steep and covered with mats of split cane, 
interwoven so compactly that they resembled the rush carpeting 
of the Moors. (The inhabitants of this part of the country all 
covered their houses with this matting.) Shells of different sizes, 
arranged in an Ingenious manner, were placed on the outside of 
the roof. On the inside, beautiful plumes, shells and 
pearls were suspended in the form of festoons, from one 1540 
to the other, down to the floor. '\ ne temple was en- 
tered by three gates, at each of which were stationed gigantic 
wooden statues, presenting fierce and menacing attitudes. 
Some of them were armed with clubs, maces, canoe- paddles, 
and copper hatchets, and others with drawn bow's and long 
pikes. All these implements were ornamented with rings 
of pearls and bands of copper. Below the ceiling, on four 
sides of the temple, arranged in niches, were two rows of wooden 
statues of the natural size — one of men, with pearls suspended 
from their hands, and the other of women. On the 
side of the walls were large benches on which sat boxes 1540 
containing the deceased Chiefs and their families. Two 
feet below these were statues of the persons entombed, the space 

• GarcellMffO de la Vejra, ]>\>. 274-282. t Herrera, vol.4, p. .'JO. 



68 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



between them being filled with shields of various sizes, made of 
strong woven reeds, adorned with pearls and colored tassels. 
Three rows of chests, full of valuable pearls, occupied the mid- 
dle of the temple. Deer skins, of a variety of colors, were packed 
away in chests, together with a large amount of clothing made 
of the skins of wild cat, martin, and other animals. The temple 
abounded in the most splendid mantles of feathers. Adjoining 
was a store-house, divided into eight apartments, which con- 
tained long pikes of copper, around which rings of pearls were 
coiled, while clubs, maces, wooden swords, paddles, arrows, 
quivers, bows, round wooden shields, and those of reed and buf- 
falo hide, were decorated in like manner* Everywhere upon 
the route through Alabama and the neighboring States, De Soto 
found the temples full of human bones. They were held sacred, 
but sometimes were wantonly violated by tribes at war with each 
other. On the west bank of the Mississippi, De Soto, joined by 
the Indian forces of the Chief Casquin, sacked the town of 
Pacaha. The invading Indians entered the temple, threw down 
the wooden boxes containing the dead, trampled upon the bodies 
and bones, and wreaked upon them every insult and indignity. 
A few days after the Chief of Pacaha and his people came back 
to the ruined town, and gathering up the scattered bones in 
mournful silence, kissed and returned them reverentially to their 

cofnns.t 

The productions of the country were abundant. Peas, beans, 

squashes, pumpkins and corn grew as if by magic. Per- 

1540 simons, formed into large cakes, were eaten in winter, 

together with walnut and bear's oil. A small pumpkin, 

when roasted in the embers, was delightful, and resembled, in 

taste, boiled chestnuts. Com was pounded in mortars, 

1528 but Narvaez saw stones for grinding it upon the Florida 

coast.t The Indians prepared their fields by digging up 

the ground with hoes made of fish bone. When the earth was 

* Garcellasso de la. Vega, pp. 274-282. f Portuguese Narrative, p. 701. 
% Herrera, vol. 4, p. 30. 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STATES. 69 

levelled in this manner, others followed with canes, with which 
they made holes, certain distances apart. The women 
next came with corn, in baskets, which they dropped in 1564 
the holes. The virginity and richness of the soil pro- 
duced the crop without further labor. [See page 50J. The 
granaries were sometimes erected in the woods, near navigable 
streams, and were constructed with stone and dirt, and covered 
with cane mats. Here were deposited corn, fruits, and all kinds 
of cured meats, for subsistence during the winter hunts 
in that part of the country. The universal honesty of 1564 
the people was a guarantee that the contents of these 
granaries would remain undisturbed, until consumed by the 
owners. 

Hunting and fishing occupied much of the time of the na- 
tives. The hunter threw over his body the skin of a deer, 
with the head, horns and legs admirably preserved. Round 
wooden hoops gave the body of the skin its proper shape, inside 
of which the Indian placed his body. Then, in a stooping posi- 
tion, so as to allow the feet to touch the ground, he 
moved along and peeped through the eye-holes of the 1564 
deer's head, all the time having a drawn bow. When 
near enough to the deer, he let fly a fatal arrow. The deer, in 
that day, unaccustomed to the noise of fire-arms, were gentle and 
numerous, and easily killed by a strategem like this.* 

At certain periods the Indians were a social people, and in- 
dulged in large feasts. At other times, they resorted to bow- 
shooting, ball-plays and dancing.f 

The population was much greater when De Soto was in the 
country than it has been since. Large armies were frequently 
arrayed against him. In Patofa, Florida, he was even furnished 
with seven hundred burden bearers. In Ocute, Georgia, he was 
supplied with two hundred of these indispensable men. At 

* Le Moyne's Florida, plate 25. Bossu's Travels in Louisiana, vol. 1, p. 259. 
t Le Moyne, plate 28. 



70 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Cafeque, in the same state, tour thousand warriors escorted 
him, while four thousand more transported the effects 

L640 ot 'Ins army. It has been seen what a numerous popu- 
lation was found in the province of Coosa, and what 
forces opposed him at Maubila, Chickasa and Alibamo. 

The ingenuity of the natives, displayed in the construction 
of mounds, arms, houses and ornaments, was by no means incon- 
siderable. At Chaquate, west of the Mississippi, earthenware 
was manufactured equal to that of Estremosor Montremor.* At 

Tulla, in Arkansas, salt was made from the deposits formed upon 

the shores of a lake ; and again, at several saline springs. The 

salt was made into small cakes, and vended among other tribes 

for skins and mantles. f The walls which surrounded 

1541 the towns, with their towers and terraces, have already 

been mentioned in the preceding chapter. Entrench- 

mentS and ditches were also found over the country. The most 

remarkable of the latter was at Pacha, west of the Mississippi. 

Here a large ditch, - wide enough for two canoes to pass abreast 

Without the paddles touching," surrounded a walled town. It 

was out nine miles long, communicated with the Mississippi, sup- 
plied the natives with lish and afforded them the privileges of 
navigation. 

The construction of canoes and barges, connected with the 

things which have already been enumerated, affords abundant 

proof that our aborigines were superior, in some respects, to the 

tribes who afterwards occupied Alabama, but who were 

1641 also ingenious in the manufacture of articles. The 

Queen of Savannah, borne out of her house in a sedan 

chair, supported upon the shoulders of four of her principal men, 

entered a handsome barge which had a tilted top at the 

1540 stern under which she took a seat upon soft cushions. 

Many principal Indians likewise entered similar barges, 

and aCOOmpanied her to the western side, in the style of a, splcn- 



» IWtu.-m-s,. Narrative and (ian-Hlasso. | Portuguese Narrative and (Jarcollas.so. 



ABORIGINES <>K alahama AND BUBROUNDING STATES. 71 

did water procession. When De Soto first discovered the Mis- 
sissippi, ;i Chief approached from the oilier side with two hun- 
dred handsome canoes of great size, tilled with painted and 
plumed warriors, who stood erect, with bows in their bands, to 
protect those who paddled. The boats of the Chiefs and princi- 
pal men had tops — like that of the Georgia Queen — 
decorated with waving flags and plumes, which floated L641 
on the breeze from poles to which they were attached. 

They are described by the journalists to have been equal to a 
beaut it'iil army of ^allies.* 

The natives worshipped the sun, and entertained great ven- 
eration for the moon, and certain stars. Whether they also be- 
lieved in a Great Spirit is not stated. When the Indian ambas- 
sadors crossed the Savannah t<» meet De Soto, they made three 

profound bows towards the east, intended for the sun; three; to- 
wards the west, for the moon ; and three; to the Governor.f I ■ p<>n 
the east bank of the Mississippi, all tin; Indians approached him 
without uttering a word, and went through precisely the Same 

ceremony; making, however, to him three bows much less rev- 
erential than those; made to the sun and moon. On the Other 
side of that river, Ik; was surrounded by the Chief and his sub- 
jects. Presently, his Indian majesty sneezed in a loud manner. 
The subjects bowed their head s, opened and closed their arms, 

and saluted the Chief with these, words, " May the sun guard 

you" — "May the sun be with you" — "May the; sun shim; upon 
you," and " May the sun prosper and defend yoii":|: 

About the first of March, annually, the natives selected 1541 
the skin of the largest deer, with the bead and legs at- 
tached. They filled it with a variety of fruit and grain, and 
sewed it up again. The bonis were also hung with garlands of 
fruit. This skin, in all respects resembling a, large buck, was 
earned by all tin; inhabitants to a plain. There it was placed 

• Portuguese Narrative, p. 729. t Oarcellaio <i<- La Vega, p. 2.00. 

• ..in iii;, 10 de la Vega, pp. 489-440. 



72 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

upon a high post, and just at the rising of the sun, the In- 
dians fell down on their knees around it, and implored that 
bright luminary to grant them, the ensuing season, an abun- 
dance of fruits and provisions, as good as those contained in the 

skin of the deer.* This was the practice upon the coast 
1564 of East Florida, and, doubtless, it was observed all over 

the country. It was certainly a very practical mode of 
asking favors of the sun. 

When a Chief or Prophet died upon the St. Johns, he was 
placed in the ground, and a small mound, of conical form, was 
erected over him. The base of this mound was surrounded with 
arrows, stuck in regular order. Some sat, and others kneeled 
around it, and continued to weep and howl for the space of 
three nights. Chosen women next visited the mound for a 
long time, every morning at the break of day, at noon, and 
at night.t Indeed, great respect appears to have been paid 
to the Chief when alive, and to him a cruel sacrifice was accus- 
tomed to be made. The first born male child was always brought 
out before the Chief, who sat upon a bench on one side of a large 
circle. Before him was a block, two feet high, and near it stooped 
the young mother, weeping in great agony. The child was 
brought forward by a dancing woman, placed upon the block, 
and a Prophet dashed out its brains with a club; at the same 
time many females danced, and raised their voices in song. t 

If a Chief desired to marry, he was accustomed to send his 
principal men to select, from the girls of nobility, one of the 
youngest and most beautiful. Painted with various colors and 
adorned with shells and pearls, the chosen one was then placed 

in a sedan chair, the top of which formed an arch of 
1561 green boughs. When placed by his side, on an elevated 

seat, great pomp and ceremony, an array of ornaments 

* Le Moyne, plate 35. t Le Moyne, plate 40. t Le Moyne, plate 34. 



ABORIGINES OF ALABAMA AND SURROUNDING STATES. 73 

of all kinds, and music and dancing, characterized the affair, while 
she and her lord were fanned with beautiful feathers. 

The treatment of diseases in that day were few and simple. 
The doctor sometimes scarified the patient with shells and 
fishes teeth, and sucked out the blood with his mouth. This he 
spurted in a bowl, and it was drunk by nursing women who stood 
by, if the patient was an athletic young man, in order to give 
their children the same vigor. It was oustomary, also, to smoke 
the patient with tobacco, and other weeds, until perspiration 
ensued and re-action was produced.* 

* Le Moyne, plate 20. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Modern Indians of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. 

'It has been seen that the Indians living in that part of Ala- 
bama through which De Soto passed, were the Coosas, 
1550 inhabiting the territory embraced in the present coun- 
July ties of Benton, Talladega, Coosa, and a portion of Cher- 
to okee; the Tallases, living upon the Tallapoosa and its 
Nov. tributary streams; the Mobilians extending from near 
the present city of Montgomery to the commercial em- 
porium which now bears their name; the Pafallayas or Choctaws, 
inhabiting the territory of the modern counties of Green, Mar- 
engo, Tuscaloosa, Sumpter and Pickens; and, in the present State 
of Mississippi, the Chickasaws, in the valley of the 
1541 Yalobusha; and the Alabamas, upon the Yazoo. It will, 
April also, be recollected, that this remarkable Spaniard over- 
run the rich province of Chiaha, the territory of the pres- 
ent northwestern Georgia, and that he there found the Chalaques, 
which all writers upon aboriginal history decide to be the origi- 
nal name of the Cherokees. 

The invasion of De Soto resulted in the destruction of an 

immense Indian population, in all the territory through 

1540 which he passed, except that of Georgia, where he 

March fought no battles. The European diseases, which the 

April natives inherited from the Spaniards, served, also, to 

May thin their population. Again, the constant bloody wars 

in which they were engaged afterwards, among each 

other, still further reduced their numbers. And while the 

bloody Spaniards were wandering over this beautiful country, 

74 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 75 

the Muscogees were living upon the Ohio.* They heard of the 
desolation of Alabama, and after a long time came to occupy and 
re-people it. The remarkable migration of this powerful tribe, 
and that of the Alabamas, will now, for the first time, be related, 
and that, too, upon the authority of a reliable person, who must 
here be introduced to the reader. 

Le Clerc Milfort, a young, handsome, and well edu- 
cated Frenchman, left his native country, sailed across 1775 
the Atlantic, made the tour of the New England States, 
and came, at length, to Savannah. A love of adventure led him 
to the Creek nation, and in May, 1776, he arrived at the great 
town of Coweta, situated on the Chattahooche river, two miles 
below the present city of Columbus. There he became 
acquainted with Colonel McGillivray, the great Chief- 1776 
tain of the nation, and accompanied him to the Hickory May 
Ground, upon the banks of the Coosa. Fascinated with 
the society of this great man, the hospitality of the Indians, and 
the wide field afforded for exciting enterprise, Milfort resolved 
to become a permanent inmate of McGillivray's house, then sit- 
uated at Little Tallage, four miles above Wetumpka. He married 
his sister, was created Tustenuggee, or Grand Chief of 
War, and often led Indian expeditions against the Whig 1780 
population of Georgia, during the American Revolution. ? May 
A fine writer, and much of an antiquarian, he employed 
some of his leisure hours in preparing a history of the Creeks. 
Remaining in the nation twenty years, he resolved to return to 
France. In 1796 he sailed from Philadelphia, and it was not long 
before he was among the gay people from whom he had so long 
been absent. Bonaparte, at length, heard of this adventurous 

* Alexander McGillivray, whose blood was Scotch, French and Indian, who was 
made a Colonel in the British service, afterwards a Spanish Commissary with the rank 
and pay of Colonel, then a Brigadier General by Washington, with full' pay— a man of 
towering intellect and vast information, and who ruled the Creek country for a quarter 
of a century— obtained the information that the Creeks were living upon the Ohio when 
]>e Soto was here in 1540. He was informed, upon the best traditional authority, that 
the Creek Indians then heard of De Soto, and the strange people with him ; and, that, 
like those whom they had seen in Mexico, they had " hair over their bodies, and carried 
thunder and lightning in their hands." 



76 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

man, and honored him with an audience. He desired to engage 
his services in forming alliances with the Alabama and Missis- 
sippi Indians, for the purpose of strengthening his Louisiana pos- 
sessions. But, finally giving up these possessions, and. turning 
his whole attention to the wars in which he was deeply en- 
gaged with the allied powers, he still retained Milfort, con- 
ferring upon him the pay and rank of General of Brigade, 
but without active employment. In the meantime, General 
Milfort had published his work upon the Creek Indians* In 
1814 his home was attacked by a party of Russians, who had 
heard of his daring exploits in assisting to repel the allied invad- 
ers. He barricaded it, and defended himself with desperation. 
His French wife assisted him to load his guns. At length he was 
rescued by a troop of grenadiers. Shortly after this 
1814 General Milfort closed, by death, a career which had 
been full of event in the savage as well as the civilized 
world. His wife, at an advanced age, was recently burned to 
death in her own house at Rheims.f 

When Milfort arrived among the Creeks, the old men often 
spoke of their ancestors, and they exhibited to him 
1776 strands of pearls which contained their history and con- 
July stituted their archives. Upon their arrangement de- 
pended their signification, and only principal events 
were thus preserved. One of their chaplets sometimes related 
the history of thirty years. Each year was rapidly distinguished 
by those who understood them. The old men, therefore, with 
the assistance of these singular records and strong memories, 
were enabled to impart to Milfort a correct tradition, the sub- 
stance of which we give.J 

Hernando Cortez, with some Spanish troops, landed at Vera 



* Memoire ou coup d'ceil rapide sur mes differens voyages et mon sejour dans la na- 
tion Creek, by Le Clerc Milfort. Tastanegry ou Grand Chef de Guerre de la nation Creek 
et General de Brigade ou service de la Kepublique Francaise. A Paris. 1802. 

t Extract from a Paris paper, published by Galignani t Milfort, p. 47. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 77 

Cruz in 1519. He fought his way thence to the City of Mexico. 
In the meantime, Montezuma had assembled his forces 
from all parts of his empire to exterminate the invad- 1519 
ers. The Muscogees then formed a separate republic on 
the northwest of Mexico. Hitherto invincible in war, they now 
rallied to his aid, engaging in the defence of that greatest of 
aboriginal cities. At length Cortez was successful — Montezuma 
was killed, his government overthrown, and thousands of his 
subjects put to the sword. Having lost many of their own war- 
riors, and unwilling to live in a country conquered by foreign 
assassins, the Muscogees determined to seek some other 
land. The whole tribe took up the line of march, and 1520 
continued eastward until they struck the sources of the 
Red river. The route lay over vast prairies, abounding with 
wild animals and fruits, which afforded them all the means of 
subsistence. In journeying down the banks of the Red river, 
they discovered salt lakes and ponds, which were covered with 
fowl of every description. Consuming months upon the journey, 
they finally reached a large forest, in which they encamped. 
The young men, sent in advance to explore the country, re- 
turned in a month, and announced the discovery of a forest 
on the banks of the Red river, in which were beautiful sub- 
terranean habitations. Marching thither, they found these 
caves had been made by buffalos and other animals, who 
came there to lick the earth, which was impregnated with 
salt. A town was here laid out, houses constructed, an ex- 
tensive field enclosed, and corn, which they had brought with 
them, planted. Subsisting by the chase and the products of 
the earth, they passed here several years in health and tran- 
quility. But even in this remote retreat they eventually found 
those who would molest them. The Alabamas, who seem also 
to have been wandering from the west, attacked a party of Mus- 
cogees, who were hunting, and killed several of them. The Mus- 
cogees abandoned their town, which they believed did not afford 



78 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

them sufficient protection from the buffalo and hu- 
Probably man foes. They resumed their march in the direc- 
in 1 527 tion of the camps of the Alabamas, upon whom they 
had resolved to be avenged. Traversing immense 
plains, they reached a grove on the Missouri river, having shaped 
their course in a northern direction from their last settlement. 
Here they came upon the footprints of the Alabamas. The most 
aristocratic among the Muscogees, called the Family of the Wind, 
passed the muddy river first. They were followed by the Fam- 
ily of the Bear ; then by that of the Tiger ; and thus, till the 
humblest of the tribe had crossed over. Resuming the march, 
young warriors and the Chiefs formed the advanced guard ; the 
old men were placed in the rear, and those of an age less ad- 
vanced on the flanks, while the women and children 
Probably occupied the centre. Coming within the neighbor- 
in 1528 hood of the enemy, the main party halted, while 
the Tastenuggee, or Grand Chief of War, at the 
head of the young warriors, advanced to the attack. The Ala- 
bamas, temporarily dwelling in subterranean habitations, were 
taken by surprise, and many of them slain. Forced to abandon 
this place, and retreat from the victors, they did not rally again 
until they had fled a great distance down on the eastern side of 
the Missouri. After a time they were overtaken, when several 
bloody engagements ensued. The Muscogees were triumphant, 
and the vanquished retreated in terror and dismay to the banks 
of the Mississippi. The enemy again coming upon them with in- 
vincible charges, precipitated many of them into the river. Thus, 
alternately fighting, constructing new towns, and again breaking 
up their last establishments, these two war-like tribes gradually 
reached the Ohio river, and proceeded along its banks almost to 
the Wabash.* Here, for a long time, the Muscogees resided, and 
lost sight of the Alabamas, who had established themselves upon 
the Yazoo, and were there living when De Soto, 1541, attacked 

* Milfort, pp. 234-259. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 79 

their fortress.* The Muscogees abandoned their home 
in the northwestern province of Mexico about the pe- 1520 
riod of 1520, had consumed fifteen years in reaching the to 
Ohio, and were there residing when the Spanish inva- 1535 
sion occurred. How long they occupied that country 
Milfort does not inform us ; but he states that they finally crossed 
the Ohio and Tennessee, and settled upon the Yazoo — thus con- 
tinuing to pursue the unfortunate Alabamas. Delighted with 
the genial climate, the abundance of fruit and game with which 
it abounded, they established towns upon the Yazoo, con- 
structed subterranean habitations, and for some years passed 
their time most agreeably. It is probable the Alabamas had 
fled before their arrival, for the Spaniards had so thinned 
the number of the latter that it was folly to resist the Musco- 
gees, who had conquered them when they w T ere much stronger. 
Milfort states that the Alabamas finally advanced to the river 
which now bears their name. Here, finding a region charming 
in climate, rich in soil, convenient in navigation, and remote from 
the country of their enemies, they made permanent establish- 
ments, from the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa some dis- 
tance down the Alabama. 

Remembering how often they had been surprised by the 
Muscogees, and how insecure from the attacks was even a dis- 
tant retreat, the Alabamas sent forth young warriors westward, 
to see if their foes were still wandering upon their heels. It hap- 
pened that a party of the latter were reconnoitering eastward. 
They met, fought, and some of the Muscogees were killed. In 
the meantime, the latter tribe had learned what a delightful 
country was occupied by the Alabamas, and this new outrage, 
coupled with a desire to go further south-east, induced them to 
break up their establishments upon the Yazoo. Without opposi- 
tion the Muscogees took possession of the lands 
upon the Alabama, and also those upon the Supposed to 
Coosa and Tallapoosa. The Alabamas fled in all be in 1620 

* Other Indian traditions in my possession. 



80 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



directions, seeking asylums among the Choctaws and other 
tribes. 

Gaining a firm footing in the new region, enjoying good 
health, and increasing in population, the Muscogees advanced to 
the Ockmulgee, Oconee, and Ogechee, and even established a 
town where now reposes the beautiful city of Augusta. With 
the Indians of the present State of Georgia, they had combats, 
but overcame them. Pushing on their conquests, they reduced a 
warlike tribe called the Uchees, lower down upon the Savannah, 
and brought the prisoners in slavery to the f^hattahoochie.* 
In 1822, the Big Warrior, who then ruled the Creek confederacy, 
confirmed this tradition, even going further back than Milfort, 
taking the Muscogees from Asia, bringing them over the Pacific, 
landing them near the Isthmus of Darien, and conducting them 
from thence to this country. " My ancestors were a mighty 
people. After they reached the waters of the Alabama and took 
possession of all this country, they went further — conquered the 
tribes upon the Chattahoochie, and upon all the rivers from 
thence to the Savannah — yes, and even whipped the Indians 
then living in the territory of South Carolina, and wrested much 
of their country from them." The Big Warrior concluded this 
sentence with great exultation, when Mr. Compere, to whom he 

was speaking, interposed an unfortunate question: — "If 
1822 this is the way your ancestors acquired all the territory 

now lying in Georgia, how can you blame the American 
population in that State for endeavoring to take it from you?" 
Never after that could the worthy missionary extract a solitary 
item from the Chieftain, in relation to the history of his 
people.! 

* Milfort, pp. 269-263. Bartram's Travels in Florida, pp. 53, 54, 464. Also traditional 
MSS. notes in my possession. 

t Key. Lee Compere's MS. notes in my possession. This gentleman was born in 
England, on Nov. 3, 1790. He came to South Carolinain 1817. The Baptist Missionary 
Board and that of the General Convention, sent him as a missionary to the Creek nation 
in 1822. He and his wife, who was an English lady, resided at Tookabatcha (the capital) 
six years. Mr. Compere made but little progress towards the conversion of the Creeks, 
owing to the opposition of the Chiefs to the abolition of primitive customs. He was a 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 81 



Sometime after these conquests, the French established 
themselves at Mobile. The Alabamas, scattered as we have seen, 
and made to flee before superior numbers, became desir- 
ous to place themselves under their protection. Anxious 1701 
to cultivate a good understanding with all the Indian 
tribes, and to heal old animosities existing among them, the 
French caused an interview between the Chiefs of the 
Alabamas and those of the Muscogees, at Mobile. In 1702 
the presence of M. Bienville, the Commandant of that 
place, a peace was made, which has not since been violated. The 
Alabamas returned to their towns, upon the river of that name, 
which were called Coosawda, Econchate, Pauwocte, Towassau 
and Autauga, situated on both sides of the river, and embracing 
a country from the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, for 
forty miles down. They consented to become members of the 
Muscogee confederacy, and to observe their national laws, but 
stipulated to retain their ancient manners and customs. 

Not long afterwards, the Tookabatchas, who had nearly been 
destroyed by the Iroquois and Hurons, wandered from the Ohio 
country, and obtained permission from the Muscogees to form a 
part of their nation. They were willingly received by the cun- 
ning Muscogees, who were anxious to gain all the strength they 
could, to prevent the encroachments of the English from South 
Carolina. Upon the ruins of the western Tallase, where De Soto 
encamped twenty days, the Tookabatchas built a town and gave 
it their name.* 

The Tookabatchas brought with them to the Tallapoosa 
some curious brass plates, the origin and objects of which have 
much puzzled the Americans of our day, who have seen 
them. Such information respecting them as has fallen 1759 
into our possession, will be given. On the 27th July, July 27 

learned man and a respectable writer. He furnished the Indian Bureau, at Washing- 
ton, with a complete vocabulary of the Muscogee language and also the Lord's Pray« r, 
all of which is published in the ilth vol. of "Transactions of the American Antiquarian 
Society." Cambridge, 1836, pp. 381-422. In 1833, I often heard Mr. Compere and his w il'e 
sing beautiful hymns in the Creek tongue. He lives in the State of Mississippi. 
*Milfort, pp. 263-266. 

6 



82 



HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



1759, at the Tookabatcha square, William Balsover, a British 
trader, made inquiries concerning their ancient relics, of an old 
Indian Chief, named Bracket, near a hundred years of age. There 
were two plates of brass and five of copper. The Indians es- 
teemed them so much that they were preserved in a private place, 
known only to a few Chiefs, to whom they were annually en- 
trusted. They were never brought to light but once in a year, 
and that was upon the occasion of the Green Corn Celebration, 
when, on the fourth day, they were introduced in what was 
termed the " brass plate dance." Then one of the high Prophets 
carried one before him, under his arm, ahead of the dancers — 
next to him the head warrior carried another, and then others 
followed with the remainder, bearing alott, at the same time, 
white canes, with the feathers of a swan at the tops. 



Shape of the five coppjber plates : One a foot 
and a half long, and seven inches wide; the 
other four a little shorter and narrower. 




Shape of the two brass plates : Eighteen 
inches in diameter, about the thickness of a 
dollar, and stamped as exhibited upon the face. 



Formerly, the Tookabatcha tribe had many more of these 
relics, of different sizes and shapes, with letters and inscriptions 
upon them, which were given to their ancestors by the Great 
Spirit, who instructed them that they were only to be handled 
by particular men, who must at the moment be engaged in 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 83 

fasting, and that no unclean woman must be suffered to come 
near them or the place where they were deposited. 
Bracket further related, that several of these plates 1759 
were then buried under the Micco's cabin in Tooka- July 27 
batcha, and had lain there ever since the first settle- 
ment of the town ; that formerly it was the custom to place one 
or more of them in the grave by the side of a deceased Chief of 
the pure Tookabatcha blood, and that no other Indians in the 
whole Creek nation had such sacred relics.* Similar accounts 
of these plates were obtained from four other British traders, 
" at the most eminent trading house of all English America."f 
The town of Tookabatcha became, in later times, the capital 
of the Creek nation ; and many reliable citizens of Alabama have 
seen these mysterious pieces at the Green Corn Dances, upon which 
occasions they were used precisely as in the more ancient days. J 
When the inhabitants of this town, in the autumn of 1836, took 
up the line of march for their present home in the Arkansas 
Territory, these plates were transported thence by six Indians, 
remarkable for their sobriety and moral character, at the head 
of whom was the Chief, Spoke-oak, Micco. Medicine, made ex- 
pressly for their safe transportation, was carried along by these 
warriors. Each one had a plate strapped behind his 
back, enveloped nicely in buckskin. They carried 1836 
nothing else, but marched on, one before the other, the 
whole distance to Arkansas, neither communicating nor con- 
versing with a soul but themselves, although several thousands 
were emigrating in company ; and walking, with a solemn 
religious air, one mile in advance of the others. § How much 
their march resembled that of the ancient Trojans, bearing off 

* Adair's "American Indians," pp. 178-179. 

t Adair's "American Indians," p. 17'J. 

i Conversations with Jiarent Dubois, Abraham Mordecai, James Moore, Capt. Vil- 
liam Walker, Lack Ian Durant, Mrs. Sophia McComb, and other persons, who staged 
that these plates had Roman characters upon them, as well as they could detenu ne 
from the rapid glances which they could occasionally bestow upon them, while they 
were being used in the " brass plate dance." 

§ Conversations with Barent Dubois. 



84 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

their household gods ! Another tradition is, that the Shawnees 
gave these plates to the Tookabatchas, as tokens of their friend- 
ship, with an injunction that they would annually introduce 
them in their religious observances of the new corn 
1833 season. But the opinion of Opothleoholo, one of the 
Dec. most gifted Chiefs of the modern Creeks, went to cor- 
roborate the general tradition that they were gifts from 
the Great Spirit* It will be recollected that our aborigines, in 
the time of De Soto, undertook the use of copper, and that 
hatchets and ornaments were made of that metal. The ancient 
Indians may have made them, and engraved upon their faces 
hieroglyphics, which were supposed, from the glance only per- 
mitted to be given them, to be Roman characters. An intelligent 
New Englander, named Barent Dubois, who had long lived 
among the Tookabatchas, believed that these plates originally 
formed some portion of the armor or musical instruments of De 
Soto, and that the Indians stole them, as they did the shields, in 
the Talladega country, and hence he accounts for the Roman let- 
ters on them. We give no opinion, but leave the reader to deter- 
mine for himself — having discharged our duty by placing all the 
available evidence before him. 

The reputation which the Muscogees had acquired for 
strength and a warlike spirit, induced other tribes who had be- 
come weak to seek an asylum among them. The Tuskegees 
wandered down into East Alabama, were received with 
1700 open arms, and permitted to occupy the territory imme- 
diately in the fork of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. Upon 
the east bank of the former a town was erected and called after 
the name of the tribe. Some time after this the French fort, Tou- 
louse, was built here ; and, one hundred years afterwards, Fort 
Jackson was placed upon the same foundation by the Americans. 
A tribe of the Ozeailles came at the same time, and were 

* Conversations with Opothleoholo in 1833. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 85 

located eighteen miles above, on a beautiful plain, through which 
meandered a fine creek.* A large tribe of Uchees, made 
prisoners and brought to Cusseta, upon the Chattahoo- 1700 
chie, not long afterwards, were liberated and assigned 
residences upon the creeks which bear their name, flowing 
through the eastern portion of the county of Russell. Or, upon 
the authority of Col. Hawkins, the Uchees, formerly living upon 
tho Savannah in small villages at Ponpon, Saltketcherand Silver 
Bluff, and also upon the Ogechee, were continually at war with 
the Creeks, Cherokees and Cataubas ; but in 1729 an old Chief of 
Cusseta, called Captain Ellick, married three Uchee women and 
brought them to Cusseta, which greatly displeased his friends. 
Their opposition determined him to move from Cusseta. With 
three of his brothers, two of whom also had Uchee wives, he set- 
tled upon the Uchee creek. Afterwards he collected all that 
tribe, and with them formed there a distinct community, which, 
however, became amenable, nationally, to the government of the 
Muscogees.t 

In 1729, the Natchez masscred the French at Fort Rosalie, 
now the site of the city of Natchez, and were in turn overpow-' 
ered, and many of them made slaves, while others escaped to the 
Coosa. In the Talladega country they built two towns, one 
called Natche and the other Abecouche. Thus a branch of the 
Natchez also became members of the Muscogee confederacy. At 
the close of the Revolutionary War, a party of Savannahs came 
from that river in company with some Shawnees, from 
Florida, and formed a town on the east side of the Tal- 1783 
lapoosa, called Souvanogee ; upon the ruins of which the 
Americans, in 1819, established the village of Augusta — no re- 
mains of which now exist. Souvanogee was laid out in conform- 
ity with their usages and habits, which they retained ; but they 

* Milfort, p. 267. 

t ''Sketch of the Creek Country in 1798-99," hy Benjamin Hawkins, pp. 61, 62, 63. 
Also, manuscript traditional notes in my possession, taken from the lips of aged 
Indian countrymen. 




s 

a 

w 



C3 



5 ^ 



- c 



4) c 

c re 
a i—. 

Cm > 

a 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, OEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 87 

willingly came under the national government of the confed- 
eracy.* 

Thus did the Muscogee confederacy gain strength, from time 
to time, by the migration" of broken tribes. When the English 
began to explore their country, and to transport goods into all 
parts of it, they gave all the inhabitants, collectively, the name of 
the "Creeks," on account of the many beautiful rivers and 
streams which flowed through their extensive domain. f By that 
name they will, in the future pages of this history, be called. 

The Creek woman was short in stature, but well forme' 1 . 
Her cheeks were rather high, but her features were generally reg- 
ular and pretty. Her brow was high and arched, her eye large, 
black and languishing, expressive of modesty and diffidence. 
I [er feet and hands were small, and the latter exquis- 
itely shaped. The warrior was larger than the ordinary 1777 
race of Europeans, often above six feet in height, but 
was invariably well formed, erect in his carriage, and graceful in 
every movement. They were proud, haughty and arrogant ; 
brave and valiant in war; ambitious of conquest; restless, and 
perpetually exercising their arms, yet magnanimous and merci- 
ful to a vanquished Indian enemy who afterwards sought their 
friendship and protection. t Encountering fatigue with 
ease, they were great travellers, and sometimes went 1780 
three or four hundred leagues on a hunting expedition. 
" Formerly they were cruel, but at the present day they are 
brave, yet peaceable, when not forced to abandon their charac- 
ter." § 

Like all other Indians, they were fond of ornaments, which 
consisted of stones, beads, wampum, porcupine quills, eagles' 
feathers, beautiful plumes, and ear-rings of various descrip- 
tions. The higher classes were often fantastic in their wear- 
ing apparel. Sometimes a warrior put on a ruffled shirt of 

* H H fort, pp. 282-283. " Sketch of the Creek Country," by Hawkins, p. 34. Also, con- 
versations with Indian countrymen. 
t Hawkins, p. 19. % Barnaul's Travels, pp. 482, 500, 506. § Milfort, pp. 21C-217. 



88 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

fine linen, and went out with no other garment except a flap of 
blue broadcloth, with buskins made of the same. The stillapica 
or moccasin, embroidered with beads, adorned the feet of the bet- 
ter classes. Mantles of good broadcloth, of a blue or scarlet 
color, decorated with fringe and lace, and hung with round sil- 
ver or brass buttons, were worn by those who could afford them. 
When they desired to be particularly gay, vermillion was freely 
applied to the face, neck and arms. Again, the skin was often 
inscribed with hieroglyphics, and representations of the sun, 
moon, stars and various animals.* This was performed by punc- 
turing the parts with gar's teeth, and rubbing in a dye made of 
the drippings of rich pine roots. These characters were inscribed 
during youth, and frequently in manhood, every time that a war- 
rior distinguished himself in slaying the enemy. Hence, 
1777 when he was unfortunately taken prisoner, he was se- 
verely punished in proportion to the marks upon his 
skin, by which he was known to have shed the blood of many of 
the kindred of those into whose hands he had fallen. f The 
Creeks wore many ornaments of silver. Crescents or gorgets, 
very massive, suspended around the neck by ribbons, reposed 
upon the breast, while the arms, fingers, hats, and even sometimes 
the necks, had silver bands around them. 

The females wore a petticoat which reached to the middle of 
the leg. The waistcoat, or wrapper, made of calico, printed linen, 
or fine cloth, ornamented with lace and beads, enveloped the up- 
per part of the body. They never wore boots or stockings, but 
their buskins reached to the middle of the leg. Their hair, 
black, long and rather coarse, was plaited in wreaths, and ordi- 
narily turned up and fastened to the crown with a silver band. 
This description of dress and ornaments were worn only by the 
better classes. The others were more upon the primitive Indian 
order. They were fond of music, both vocal and instrumental ; 
but the instruments they used were of an inferior kind, such as 

* Bartram's Travels, pp. 482-506. t Adair's American Indians, p. 389. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 89 

the tambour, rattle-gourd, and a kind of flute, made of the joint 
of a cane or the tibia of the deer's leg. Dancing was practiced to 
a great extent, and they employed an endless variety of steps* 

Their most manly and important game was the " ball play." 
It was the most exciting and interesting game imaginable, and 
was the admiration of all the curious and learned travellers who 
witnessed it. The warriors of one town challenged those of an- 
other, and they agreed to meet at one town, or the other, as may 
have been decided. For several days previous to the time, those 
who intended to engage in the amusement took medicine, as 
though they were going to war. The night immediately pre- 
ceding was spent in dancing and other ceremonious preparations. 
On the morning of the play, they painted and decorated them- 
selves. In the meantime, the news had spread abroad in the 
neighboring towns, which had collected, at the place designated, 
an immense concourse of men, women and children — the young 
and the gay — the old and the grave — together with hundreds of 
ponies, Indian merchandise, extra wearing apparel, and various 
articles brought there to stake upon the result. 

The players were all nearly naked, wearing only a piece of 
cloth called " flap.' 1 They advanced towards the immense plain 
upon which they were presently to exhibit astonishing feats of 
strength and agility. From eighty to a hundred men were usu- 
ally on a side. They now approached each other, and were first 
seen at the distance of a quarter of a mile apart, but their war 
songs and yells had previously been heard. Intense excitement 
and anxiety were depicted upon the countenance of the immense 
throng of spectators. Presently the parties appeared in full trot, 
as if about to encounter fiercely in fight. They met and 
soon became intermingled together, dancing and stamp- 1750 
ing, while a dreadful artillery of noise and shouts went 
up and rent the air. An awful silence then succeeded. The 
players retired from each other, and fell back one hundred and 

* Bartraiii's Travels, pp. 482-506. 



90 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



fifty yards from the centre. Thus they were three hundred 
yards apart. In the center were erected two poles, between 
which the ball must pass to count one. Every warrior was pro- 
vided with two rackets or hurls, of singular construction, re- 
sembling a ladle or hoop-net with handles nearly three feet long. 
The handle was of wood, and the netting of the thongs of raw 
hide or the tendons of an animal. The play was commenced by 
a ball, covered with buckskin, being thrown in the air. The 
players rushed together with a mighty shock, and he who caught 
the ball between his two rackets, ran off with it and hurled it 

again in the air, endeavoring to throw it between the 
1790 poles in the direction of the town to which he belonged. 

They seized hold of each other's limbs and hair, tumbled 
each other over, first trampled upon those that were down, and 
did everything to obtain the ball, and afterwards to make him 
who had it, drop it before he could make a successful throw. 
The game was usually from twelve to twenty. It was kept up 
for hours, and during the time the players used the greatest ex- 
ertions, exhibited the most infatuated devotion to their side, were 
often severely hurt, and sometimes killed, in the rough and un- 
feeling scramble which prevailed. It sometimes happened that 
the inhabitants of a town gamed away all their ponies, jewels, 
and wearing apparel, even stripping themselves, upon the issue 
of the ball play. In the meantime, the women were constantly 
on the alert with vessels and gourds filled with water, watching 
every opportunity to supply the players.* 

If a Creek warrior wished to marry, he sent his sister, mother, 
or some female relation, to the female relations of the girl whom 

he loved. Her female relations then consulted the un- 
1798 cles, and if none the brothers, on the maternal side, who 

decided upon the case. If it was an agreeable alliance, 
the bridegroom was informed of it, and he sent, soon after, a blan- 
ket and articles of clothing to the female part of the family of 

* The "Narrative of a Mission to the Creek Nation," by Col. Marinus Willett, pp. 
108-110. Bartram's Travels, pp. 482-506. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 91 

the bride. If they received these presents, the match was made, 
and the man was at liberty to go to the house of his wife as soon 
as he deemed it proper. When he had built a residence, 
produced a crop, gathered it in, made a hunt and brought 1798 
home the game, and tendered a general delivery of all to 
the girl, then they were considered man and wife. 

Divorce was at the choice of either party. The man, how- 
ever, had the advantage, for he could again marry another woman 
if he wished ; but the woman was obliged to lead a life of celib- 
acy until the Boosketuh, or Green Corn Dance, was over. Mar- 
riage gave no right to the husband over the property of the wife, 
or the control or management of the children which he might 
have by her. 

Adultery was punished by the family of the husband, who 
collected together, consulted and agreed on the course to pursue. 
One-half of them then went to the house of the woman, and the 
other half to the residence of the guilty warrior. They appre- 
hended, stripped, and beat them with long poles until they were 
insensible. Then they cropped off their ears, and sometimes 
their noses, with knives, the edges of which were made rough and 
saw-like. The hair of the woman was carried in triumph to the 
square. Strange to say, they generally recovered from 
this inhuman treatment. If one of the offenders escaped, 1798 
satisfaction was taken by similar punishment inflicted 
upon the nearest relative. If both of the parties fled unpunished, 
and the party aggrieved returned home and laid down the poles, 
the offense was considered satisfied. But one family in the Creek 
nation had authority to take up the poles the second time, and 
that was the Ho-tul-gee, or family of the Wind. The parties 
might absent themselves until the Boosketuh was over, and then 
they were free from punishment for this and all other offenses, 
except murder, which had to be atoned for by death inflicted 
upon the guilty one or his nearest relative.* 

* Hawkins' " Sketch of the Creek Country," pp. 73-74. 



92 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



The Creeks buried their dead in the earth, in a square pit, 
under the bed where the deceased lay in his house. The grave 
was lined on the sides with cypress bark, like the curbing of a 
well. The corpse, before it became cold, was drawn up with 
cords, and made to assume a squatting position ; and in this 
manner it was placed in the grave and covered with earth. The 
gun, tomahawk, pipe, and other articles of the deceased, were 
buried with him * 

In 1777, Bar tram found, in the Creek nation, fifty towns, 
with a population of eleven thousand, which lay upon the rivers 
Coosa, Tallapoosa, Alabama, Chattahoochie and Flint, and the 
prominent creeks which flowed into them. The Muscogee was 
the national language, although in some of these towns, the 
Uchee or Savannah, Alabama, Natchez and Shawnee tongues 
prevailed. But the Muscogee was called, by the traders, the 
" mother tongue," while the others mentioned were termed the 
"stinkard lingo."f 

The general council of the nation was always held in 
the principal town, in the centre of which was a large public 
square, with three cabins of different sizes in each angle, making 
twelve in all. Four avenues led into the square. The cabins, 
capable of containing sixty persons each, were so situated that 
from one of them a person might see into the others. 
1776 One belonging to the Grand Chief fronted the rising sun, 
to remind him that he should watch the interests of his 
people. Near it was the grand cabin, where the councils were 
held. In the opposite angle, three others belonged to the old 
men, and faced the setting sun, to remind them that they were 
growing feeble, and should not go to war. In the two remaining 
corners were the cabins of the different Chiefs of the nation, the 
dimensions of which were in proportion to the rank and services 
of those Chiefs. The whole number in the square was painted 
red, except those facing the west, which were white, symbolical 

* Bartram, pp. 513-514. t Bartrain's Travels, pp. 461-462. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 93 

of virtue and old age. The former, during war, were decorated 
with wooden pieces sustaining a chain of rings of wood. This 
was a sign of grief, and told the warriors they should hold them- 
selves in readiness, for their country needed their services. 
These chains were replaced by garlands of ivy leaves during 
peace. 

In the month of May, annually, the Chiefs and principal In- 
dians assembled in the large square formed by these houses, to 
deliberate upon all subjects of general interest. When they were 
organized they remained in the square until the council broke 
up. Here they legislated, eat and slept. During the session, no 
person, except the principal Chiefs, could approach within less 
than twenty feet of the grand cabin. The women prepared the 
food, and deposited it at a prescribed distance, when it 
was borne to the grand cabin by the subordinate Chiefs. 1776 
In the center of the square was a fire constantly burn- 
ing. At sunset the council adjourned for the day, and then the 
young people of both sexes danced around this fire until a cer- 
tain hour. As soon as the sun appeared above the horizon, a 
drum-beat called the Chiefs to the duties of the day.* 

Besides this National Legislature, each principal town in the 
nation had its separate public buildings, as do the States of this 
American Union ; and like them, regulated their own local affairs. 
The public square at Auttose, upon the Tallapoosa, in 1777, con- 
sisted of four square buildings, of the same dimensions and uni- 
form in shape, so situated as to form a tetragon, enclosing an area 
of an half acre. Four passages, of equal width at the corners, 
admitted persons into it. The frames of these buildings 
were of wood, but a mud plaster, inside and out, was 1777 
employed to form neat walls ; except two feet all around 
under the eaves, left open to admit light and air. One of them 
was the council house, where the Micco (King), Chiefs and war- 
riors, with the white citizens, who had business, daily assembled 

* Milfort, pp. 206-208. 



94 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



to hear and decide upon all grievances, adopt measures for the 
better government of the people, and the improvement of the 
town, and to receive ambassadors from other towns. This building 
was enclosed on three sides, while a partition, from end to end, di- 
vided it into two apartments, the back one of which was totally 
dark, having only three arched holes large enough for a per- 
son to crawl into. It was a sanctuary of priestcraft, in which 
were deposited physic-pots, rattles, chaplets of deer's hoofs, the 
great pipe of peace, the imperial eagle-tail standard, displayed 
like an open fan, attached to which was a staff as white and clean 
as it could be scoured. The front part of this building was open 
like a piazza, divided into three apartments — breast high — each 
containing three rows of seats, rising one above the other, for the 
legislators. The other three buildings fronting the square were 
similar to the one just described, except that they had no 
sanctuary, and served to accommodate the spectators; they were 
also used for banqueting houses. 

The pillars and walls of the houses of the square abounded 
with sculptures and caricature paintings, representing men in 
different ludicrous attitudes; some with the human shape, hav- 
ing the heads of the duck, turkey, bear, fox, wolf and deer. 
Again, these animals were represented with the human head. 
These designs were not ill-executed, and the outlines were bold 
and well proportioned. The pillars of the council house were in- 
geniously formed in the likeness of vast speckled snakes ascend- 
ing — the Auttoses being of the Snake family.f 

Rude paintings were quite common among the Creeks, and 
they often conveyed ideas by drawings. No people could pre- 
sent a more comprehensive view of the topography of a country 

with which they were acquainted, than the Creeks 

1776 could, in a few moments, by drawing upon the ground. 

Sept. 30 Barnard Roman, a Captain in the British Army, saw at 

Hoopa Ulla, a Choctaw town, not far from Mobile, the 

* Bartram's Travels, pp. 448-454. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 95 



following drawing, executed by the Creeks, which had fallen into 
the possession of the Choctaws. 




JUL4 



v- 



m 



This represents that ten Creek warriors, of the family of the 
Deer, went into the Choctaw country in three canoes ; that six of 
them landed, and in marching along a path, met two Choctaw 
men, two women and a dog ; that the Creeks killed and scalped 
them. The scalp, in the deer's foot, implies the horror of the ac- 
tion to the whole Deer family.* 

The great council house in Auttose, was appropriated to 
much the same' purpose as the square, but was more private. 
It was a vast conical building, capable of accommodating many 
hundred people. Those appointed to take care of it, daily 
swept it clean, and provided canes for fuel and to give lights. 
Besides using this rotunda for political purposes, of a private na- 
ture, the inhabitants of Auttose were accustomed to take their 
"black drink" in it. The officer who had charge of this cere- 
mony ordered the cacina tea to be prepared under an open shed 
opposite the door of the council house ; he directed bun- 
dles of dry cane to be brought in, which were previously 1777 
split in pieces two feet long. "They were now placed 

* Barnard Roman's Florida, p. 102. 



96 HISTORY OF ALAI'.AMA. 

obliquely across upon one another on the Boor, forming a spiral 
line round about the great centre pillar, eighteen Inches in thick- 
ness. This spiral line, spreading as it proceeded round and 
round, often repeated from right to left, every revolution in- 
creased its diameter, and at length extended to the distance of 
ten or twelve feet from the centre, according to the time the as- 
sembly was to continue." By the time these preparations were 
Completed, it was night-, and the assembly had taken their seats. 
The outer end of the spiral line was tired. It gradually crept 

round the centre pillar, with the course of the sun, feeding on the 
cane, and affording a bright and cheerful light. r l 'he aged Chiefs 

and warriors sal upon their eane solas, which were elevated One 
above the other, and fixed against the back side of the house, op- 
posite the door. The white people and Indians of confederate 

towns sat, in like order, on the left — a transverse range of pil- 
lars, supporting a, thin clay wall, breast high, separating them. 

The King's seat was in front,; hack of it Were the seats of the 

head warriors, and those of a subordinate condition. 
1777 Two middle-aged men now entered at the door, bearing 

Large OOnch shells full of black drink. They advanced 
with slow, uniform and steady Steps, with eyes elevated, and sing- 
ing in a very low tone. Coming within a few fed, of the King, they 

stopped, and rested their shells on Little fables. Presently they 
b»ok them up again, crossed each other, and advanced obsequi- 
ously. One presented his shell to the King, and the other to the 

principal man among the white audience. As soon as they raised 
1 1 it'in to their mouths (he attendants uttered two notes hoo* 
Ojah! and <(-lu yah /—Which they spun OUt as long as they could 
hold their breath. As long as the notes continued, so long did 

the person drink or hold the shell to his mouth. In this manner 

all the assembly were served with the " black drink." Hut when 
the drinking begun, tobacco, contained in pouches made of the 
skins of the wild eat, otter, bear and rattlesnake, was distributed 
among the assembly, together with pipes, and a general smoking 



MODERN Indians OF ILABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. !»7 

commenced, The King began first, with a few whiffs from the 
great i>i[><*, blowing it ceremoniously, first toward the sun, next 

toward the four Cardinal points, and then toward the 

white audience. Then .the attendants passed this pipe 1777 

to others of distinction. In this manner, these dignified 

and singular people occupied some hours in the night, until the 

spiral line of canes was consumed, which was a signal for re« 

tiring.* 

Twenty-one years after the visit of Bartram to the Creels 
nation, Col. Benjamin Hawkins, to whom Washington had con- 
fided Important trusts in relation to the tribes south of tin; Ohio, 
penetrated these wilds. He found the public buildings, at that 
period similar to those already described, with, however, some 
exceptions, which may have hem the result of a slight change of 
ancient customs. 

Every town had a separate government, and public buildings 
for business and pleasure, with a presiding officer, who was 
called a King, by the traders, and a Micco, by the In- 
dians. This functionary received all public characters, 17'. 

beard their talks, laid them before his people, and, in re- 
turn, delivered the talk of his own town. He was always chosen 
from some noted family. The .Micco of Tookabatcha, was of the 

Eagle tribe (Lum-ul-gee.) When they were put into office, they 

held their stations for life, and when dead, were succeeded by 
their nephews. The Micco could select an assistant when be be 
came infirm, or for other causes, subject to the approval of the 
principal men of the town. They generally bore the name of 
the town which they governed, as Cusseta Micco, Tookabatcha 
Micco, etc. 

«* Choo-co-thiuc-co, (big house) the town house or public 
square, consists of four buildings of one story, facing each other, 

• Bartram'i Travel*, pp. 448-404. The Bite -a Auttoee ii now embraced In Mamn 
county, and li a cotton plantation, the property of the u<>n. George Goldthwalte, Jud) e 
ni the (eighth Judicial < ircnit. On the morning <>r the 26th of November, 1818, ;i battle 
w.i i rougni i ii- 1 <• bel ween tin- Creeki and the Georgian! the latter commanded by Oen 
John Floyd 



y8 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



forty by sixteen feet, eight feet pitch ; the entrance at each cor- 
ner. Each building is a wooden frame supported on posts set in 
the ground, covered with slabs, open in front like a piazza, di- 
vided into three rooms, the back and ends clayed up to the 
plates. Each division is divided lengthwise into two seats. The 
front, two feet high, extending back half way, covered with reed 
mats or slabs ; then a rise of one toot and it extends back, covered 
in like manner, to the side of the building. On these seats they 
lie or sit at pleasure. 

"THE RANK OF THE BUILDINGS WHICH FORM THE SQUARE. 

" 1st. Mic-ul-gee in-too-pau, the Micco? s cabin. This fronts 
the east, and is occupied by those of the highest rank. The cen- 
ter of the building is always occupied by the Micco of the town, 
by the Agent for Indian affairs, when he pays a visit to a town, 
by the Miccos of other towns, and by respectable white 
people. 

" The division to the right is occupied by the Mic-ug-gee 
(Miccos, there being several so called in every town, 
1798 from custom, the origin of which is unknown), and the 
councillors. These two classes give their advice in rela- 
tion to war, and are, in fact, the principal councillors. 

" The division to the left is occupied by the E-ne-hau-ulgee 
(people second in command, the head of whom is called by the 
traders second man.) These have the direction of the public 
works appertaining to trte town, such as the public buildings, 
building houses in town for new settlers, or working in the 
fields. Tney are particularly charged with the ceremony of the 
a-ce, (a decoction of the cassine yupon, called by the traders 
black drink), under the direction of the Micco. 

"2d. Tus-tun-nug-ul-gee in-too-pau, the warriors' cabin. This 
fronts the south. The head warrior sits at the end of the cabin, 
and in his division the great warriors sit beside each other. The 
next in rank sit in the center division, and the young warriors in 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 



99 



the third. The rise is regular by merit from the third to the 
first division. The Great Warrior, for this is the title of the 
head warrior, is appointed by the Micco and councillors from 
among the greatest war characters. 

« When a young man is trained up and appears well quali- 
fied for the fatigues and hardships of war, and is promising, the 
Micco appoints him a governor, or, as the name imports, a leader 
(Is-te-puc-cau-chau), and if he distinguishes himself they elevate 
him to the center cabin. A man who distinguishes him- 
self repeatedly in warlike enterprises, arrives to the rank of the 
Great Leader (Is-te-puc-cau-chau-tblucco.) This title, though 
greatly coveted, is seldom attained, as it requires a long course of 
years, and great and numerous successes in war. 

« The second class of warriors is the Tusse-ki-ul-gee. All who 
go to war, and are in company when a scalp is taken, get a war- 
name. The leader reports their conduct and they receive a name 
accordingly. This is the Tus-se-o-chif-co or war-name. The 
term leader, as used by the Indians, is a proper one. The 
war parties all march in Indian file, with the leader in front, un- 
til coming on hostile ground. He is then in the rear. 

"3d. Is-te-chaguc-ul-gee in-too-pau, the cabin of the beloved 
men. This fronts the north. There are a great many men who 
have been war leaders and who, although of various ranks, have 
become estimable in long course of public service. They 
sit themselves on the right division of the cabin of the 
Micco, and are his councillors. The family of the Micco, and 
great men who have distinguished themselves occupy this cabin 

of the Beloved Men. 

" 4th. Hut-te-mau-hug-gee, the cabin of the young people and 

their associates. This fronts the west. 



" THE CONVENTION OF THE TOWN. 



« The Micco, councillors and warriors meet every day in the 
public square, sit and drink of the black tea, talk of the news, the 



100 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. n 

public and domestic concerns, smoke their pipes, and play Thla- 
chal-litch-cau (roll the bullet). Here all complaints are intro- 
duced, attended to and redressed. 

"5th. Chooc-ofau-thluc-co, the rotundo or assembly room, y 
called by the traders 'hot house.'' This is near the square, and 
is constructed after the following manner : Eight posts are 
driven into the ground, forming an octagon of thirty feet in 
diameter. They are twelve feet high, and large enough to support 
the roof. On these five or six logs are placed, of a side, drawn in 
as they rise. On these, long poles or rafters, to suit the height of 
the building, are laid, the upper ends forming a point, and the 
lower ends projecting out six feet from the octagon, and resting 
on the posts, five feet high, placed in a circle round the octagon, 
with plates on them, to which the rafters are tied with splits. 
The rafters are near together and fastened with splits. These are 
covered with clay, and that of pine bark. The wall, six feet from 
the octagon, is clayed up. They have a small door, with a small 
portico carved round for five or six feet, then into the house. 

" The space between the octagon and wall is one entire sofa, 
where the visitors lie or sit at pleasure. It is covered with reed, 
mat or splits. 

" In the centre of the room, on a small rise, the fire is made 
of dry cane, or dry old pine slabs, split fine, and laid in a spiral 
line. This is the assembly room for all people, old and young. 
They assemble every night and amuse themselves with dancing, 
singing or conversation. Amd here, sometimes, in very cold 
weather, the old and naked sleep. 
1798 "In all transactions which require secrecy, the rul- 

ers meet here, make their fire, deliberate and decide."* 

A very interesting festival, common not only to the Creeks, 
but to many other tribes, will now be described. As Col. Haw- 
kins was, in all respects, one of the most conscientious and relia- 
ble men that ever lived, his account, like the preceding, will be 

* Sketch of the Creek Country in 1798-1799, by Benjamin Hawkins, pp. 68-72. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 101 

copied in his own style. Of the many descriptions of the Green 
Corn Dance, in our possession, that by the honest and indefati- 
gable Creek Agent is the most minute and most readily under- 
stood. 

" BOOS-KE-TAU. 

"The Creeks celebrate this festival in the months of July and 
August. The precise time is fixed by the Micco and councillors, 
and is sooner or later, as the state of affairs of the town 
or the early or lateness of their corn will suit. In Cus- 1798 
setuh this ceremony lasts for eight days. In some towns 
of less note it is but four days. 

"FIRST DAY. 

"In the morning the warriors clear the yard of the square, 
and sprinkle white sand, when the black drink is made. The fire- 
maker makes the fire as early in the morning as he can, by 
friction. The warriors cut and bring into the square four logs, 
each as long as a man can cover by extending his two arms. 
These are placed in the center of the square, end to end, forming 
a cross, the outer ends pointed to the cardinal points ; in the cen- 
ter of the cross the new fire is made. During the first four days 
they burn out these first four logs. 

"The Pin-e-bun-gau (turkey dance) is danced by the women 
of the Turkey tribe, and while they are dancing the possau is 
brewed. This is a powerful emetic. It is drank from 
twelve o'clock to the middle of the afternoon. Alter 1798 
this, Toc-co-yula-gau (tad-pole) is danced by four women 
and four men. In the evening the men dance E-ne-hou-bun-gau 
(the dance of the people second in command). This they dance 
till daylight. 

" SECOND DAY. 

"About ten o'clock the women dance Its-ho-bun-gau (gun 
dance). After twelve o'clock the men go to the new fire, take 



102 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



some of the ashes, rub them on the chin, neck and abdomen, and 
jump head foremost into the river, and then return into the 
square. The women having prepared the new corn for the feast, 
the men take some of it and rub it between their hands, then on 
their faces and breasts, and then they feast. 

" THIRD DAY. 

" The men sit in the square. 

"FOURTH DAY. 

" The women go early in the morning and get the new fire, 

clean out their hearths, sprinkle them with sand, and make their 

fires. The men finish burning out the first four logs, 

1798 and they take ashes, rub them on their chin, neck and 

abdomen, and they go into the water. This day they 

eat salt,. and they dance Obungauchapco (the long dance). 

" FIFTH DAY. 

« They get four new logs, and place them as on the first day, 
and they drink the black drink. 

" SIXTH AND SEVENTH DAYS. 

" They remain in the square. 

" EIGHTH DAY. 

" They get two large pots, and their physic plants, the names 

of which are : 

Mic-ca-ho-you-e-juh, Co-hal-le-wau-gea, 

Toloh, Chofeinsack-cau-fuck-au, 

A-che-nau, Cho-fe-mus-see, 

Cap-pau-pos-cau, Hillis-hutke, 

Chu-lis-sau (the roots), To-te-cuh-chooe-his-see, 
Tuck-thlau-lus-te, Welau-nuh, 

To-te-cul-hil-lis-so-wau, Oak-chon-utch-co. 

These plants are put in pots and beat up with water. The chem- 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 103 



ists, E-lic-chul-gee, called by the traders physic-makers, blow 
into it through a small reed, and then it is drank by the men and 
rubbed over their joints till the afternoon. 

" They collect old corn cobs and pine burs, put them into a 
pot and burn them to ashes. Four very young virgins bring 
ashes from their houses and stir them up. The men take white 
clay and mix it with water in two pans. One pan of clay and 
one of the ashes are carried to the cabin of the Micco, and the 
other two to that of the warriors. They then rub themselves 
with the clay and ashes. Two men, appointed to that office, 
bring some flowers of tobacco of a small kind, Itch-au-chee-le- 
pue-pug-gee, or, as the name imports, the old man's 
tobacco, which was prepared on the first day and put in 1798 
a pan in the cabin of the Micco, and they gave a little of 
it to every one present. 

" The Micco and councillors then go four times around the 
fire, and every time they face the east they throw some of the 
flowers into the tire. They then go, and stand to the west. The 
warriors then repeat the same ceremony. 

"A cane is stuck up at the cabin of the Micco, with two white 
feathers at the end of it. One of the fish tribe (Thlot-logulgee) 
takes it, just as the sun goes down, and goes off to the river, fol- 
lowed by all. When he gets half way down the river he gives 
the death whoop, which he repeats four times between the square 
and the water's edge. Here they all place themselves as thick 
as they can stand near the edge of the water. He sticks 
up the cane at the water's edge, and they all put a grain 1798 
of the old man's tobacco on their heads and in each ear. 
Then, at a signal given four different times, they throw some into 
the river; and every man, at a signal, plunges into the river and 
picks up four stones from the bottom. With these they cross 
themselves on their breasts four times, each time throwing a 
stone into the river and giving the death whoop. They then 
wash themselves, take up the cane and feathers, return and stick 



104 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

it up in the square, and visit through the town. At night they 
dance O-bun-gau-hadjo (mad dance), and this finishes the 
ceremony. 

" This happy institution of the Boos-ke-tau restores man to 
nimself, to his family, and to his nation. It is a general am- 
nesty, which not only absolves the Indians from all 
1798 crimes, murder alone excepted, but seems to bring guilt 
itself into oblivion."* 
With some slight variations, the Green Corn Dance was thus 
celebrated throughout the Creek confederacy. At the town of 
Tookabatcha, however, it will be recollected, that on the fourth 
day, the Indians introduced the «' brass plates." At Coosawda, 
the principal town of the Alabamas, they celebrated aBoosketau 
of four days each, of mulberries and beans, when these fruits re- 
spectively ripened. f < 

James Adair, a man of learning and enterprise, lived more 
than thirty years among the Chickasaws, and had frequent in- 
tercourse with the nations of the Muscogees, Cherokees and 
Choctaws, commencing in 1735. He' was an Englishman, and 
was connected with the extensive commerce carried on 
1735 at an early period with these tribes. While among the 
Chickasaws, with whom he first began to reside in 
1744, he wrote a large work on aboriginal history. When he re- 
turned to his mother country, he published this work, the 
" American Indians," a ponderous volume of near five hundred 
pages, at London, in 1775. Well acquainted with the Hebrew 
language, and having, in his long residence with the Indians, ac- 
quired an accurate knowledge of their tongue, he devoted the 
larger portion of his work to prove that the latter were originally 
Hebrews, and were a portion of the lost tribes of Israel. He as- 
serts, that at the Boosketaus of the Creeks and other tribes 
within the limits of Alabama, the warriors danced around the 

* Hawkins' Sketch of the Creek Country, pp. 75-78. 
t Adair's American Indians, p. 97. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI, 105 

holy fire, during which the elder Priest invoked the Great Spirit, 
while the others responded Halelu! Halelu! then Haleluiah! 
Haleluyah ! He is ingenious in his arguments, and introduces 
many strange things to prove, to his own satisfaction, that the 
Indians were descendants of the Jews — seeking, throughout two 
hundred pages, to assimilate their language, manners and cus- 
toms. He formed his belief that they were originally the same 
people, upon their division into tribes, worship of Jehovah, no- 
tions of a theocracy, belief in the ministration of angels, language 
and dialects, manner of computing time, their Prophets 
and High Priests, festivals, fasts and religious rites, 1740 
daily sacrifices, ablutions and anointings, laws of un- 
cleanliness, abstinence from unclean things, marriages, divorces, 
and punishments for adultery, other punishments, their towns of 
refuge, purification and ceremony preparatory to war, their orna- 
ments, manner of curing the sick, burial of the dead, mourning 
for the dead, raising seed to a deceased brother, choice of names 
adapted to their circumstances and times, their own traditions, 
and the accounts of our English writers, and the testimony 
which the Spanish and other authors have given concerning the 
primitive inhabitants of Peru and Mexico. 

He insists that in nothing do they differ from the Jews except 
in the rite of circumcision, which, he contends, their ancestors 
dispensed with, after they became lost from the other tribes, on 
account of the danger and inconvenience of the execution of that 
rite, to those engaged in a hunting and roving life. That 
when the Israelites were forty years in the wilderness, 1740 
even then they attempted to dispense with circumci- 
sion, but Joshua, by his stern authority, enforced its observance. 
The difference in food, mode of living and climate are relied upon 
by Adair, to account for the difference in the color, between the 
Jew and Indian, and also why the one has hair upon the body in 
profusion and the other has not.* 

* Adair's American Indians, pp. 15-220. 



106 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Adair is by no means alone in his opinion of the descent of 
the American Indians. Other writers, who have lived among 
these people, have arrived at the same conclusion. Many of the 
old Indian countrymen with whom we have conversed believe in 
their Jewish origin, while others are of a different opinion. 
Abram Mordecai, an intelligent Jew, who dwelt fifty years in the 
Creek nation, confidently believed that the Indians were origi- 
nally of his people, and he asserted that in their Green Corn 
Dances he had heard them often utter in grateful tones the word 
yavoyaha! yavoyaha ! He was always informed bv the Indians 
that this meant Jehovah, or the Great Spirit, and that they were 
then returning thanks for the abundant harvest with which they 
were blessed.* 

Colonel Hawkins concludes his account of the religious and 
war ceremonies of the Creek Indians as follows : 

" At the age of from fifteen to seventeen, the ceremony of 
initiating youth to manhood is performed. It is called the Booske-' 
tau, in like manner as the annual Boosketau of the nation. A 
youth of the proper age gathers two handfuls of the 
1798 Sou- watch- cau, a very bitter root, which he eats a whole 
day. Then he steeps the leaves in water and drinks it. 
In the dusk of the evening he eats two or three spoonfuls of 
boiled grits. This is repeated for four days, and during this time 
he remains in a house. The Sou-watch-cau has the effect of in- 
toxicating and maddening. The fourth day he goes out, but must 
put on a pair of new moccasins (stillapicas). For twelve moons 
he abstains from eating bucks, except old ones, and from turkey 
cocks, fowls, peas and salt. During this period he must not pick 
his ears or scratch his head with his fingers, but use a small 
stick. For four moons he must have a fire to himself to cook his 
food, and a little girl, a virgin, may cook for him. His food is 



* Conversations with Abram Mordecai, a man of ninety-two years of age, whom I 
found in Dudleyville, Tallapoosa county, in the fall of 1847* His mind was fresh in the 
recollection of "early incidents. Of him I shall have occasion to speak in another por- 
tion of the work. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA. MISSISSIPPI. 107 

boiled grits. The fifth moon any person may cook for him, but 
he must serve himself first, and use one pan and spoon. Every 
new moon he drinks for four days thepossau (button snakeroot), 
an emetic, and abstains for three days from all food, except in 
the evening a little boiled grits (humpetuh hutke). The twelfth 
moon he performs, for four days, what he commenced with on 
the first. The fiftn day he comes out of his house, gathers corn 
cobs, burns them to ashes, and with these rubs his body 
all over. At the end of this moon he sweats under 1798 
blankets, then goes into water, and thus ends the cer- 
emony. This ceremony is sometimes extended to four, six or 
eight moons, or even to twelve days only, but the course is the 
same. 

" During the whole of this ceremony the physic is adminis- 
tered by the Is-te-puc-cau-chau-thlucco (Great Leader), who, in 
speaking of the youth under initiation says, 'lam physicing 
him' — (Boo-se-ji-jite saut li-to mise-cha). Or 4 I am teaching 
him all that it is proper for him to know' — (nauk o-mul-gau e-muc- 
e-thli-jite saut litomise cha). The youth during this initiation 
does not touch any one except young persons, who are under a 
like course with himself. And if he dreams, he drinks the 
possau." * 

Whenever Creeks were forced to take up arms, the Tuste- 
nuggee caused to be displayed in the public places a club, part of 
which was painted red. He sent it to each subordinate Chief, 
accompanied with a number of pieces of wood, equal to the num- 
ber of days that it would take that Chief to present himself at 
the rendezvous. The War Chief alone had the power of 
appointing that day. When this club had arrived, each 1778 
Chief caused a drum to be beat before the grand cabin 
where he resided. All the inhabitants immediately presented 
themselves. He informed them of the day and place where he 
intended to kindle his fire. He repaired to that placo before the 

* Hawkins', pp. 78-79. 



IDS 



IIISTOKY OK A I, A HA MA. 



appointed day, and rubbed two stioks together, which produced 
lire, lie kindled it in the midst of ;i, square, formed by four 
posts, sufficiently extended i<> contain the number of warriors he 

desired to assemble. As soon ;is the day dawned, the Chief 

plaoed himself between the two posts which fronted the east, and 
beld in ids hand a. paokage of small stioks. When a, warrior en- 
tered the enclosure, which was open only <>n one side, he threw 
down a stick and continued until they were all gone, the number 
of stioks being equal to the number of warriors lie required. 
Those who presented themselves afterwards could not be admit- 
ted, and they returned home to hunt, Indicating the plaoe where 

they could be found If their services should be needed. 

1778 Those who thus tardily presented themselves were 
badly received at home, and were reproached lor the 

Slight desire they hud testified to defend their country. 

The warriors who were in the Inolosure remained there, and 
for three days took the medicine of war. Their wives brought 
them their arms, and ;iii things requisite for the oampaign, and 
deposited them three hundred yards in front- of the square, to- 
gether with ;i little bag Of parched corn-meal, an ounce 

1778 of which would make a pint of broth. * [t was only nec- 
essary to mix if with water, and in live minutes it be- 
came as thiok as soup cooked by ;i lire. Two ounces would sus- 
tain a man twenty four hours. I f was indispensable, for, durine; 
;i war expedition, the party could not kill game. 

The three days of medioine having expired, the Chief de- 
parted with Ins warriors to the rendezvous appointed by the 
Grand Chief. Independently of this medicine, which was taken 
by all, eaol] subordinate Chief had his particular talisman, which 

he oarefully carried about his person, it consisted of ;i small 

, 111 which were ;i lew stones and some pieces of cloth which 
had beetl taken from the garments of the Grand Chief, 111 the re 
turn from some former war. If tin- subordinate Chief forgot his 



* < lulled On I lit' model n < 'ivi'K l r . i . I . 



ioal Hour." 



MODERN Indians OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. L09 



bag he was deprived of his rank, and remained a com- 
mon soldier during the whole expedition. The Grand 1778 
Chief presented himself at the rendezvous on the ap- 
pointed day, and he was sure to And there the assembled war- 
riors, lie Him placed himself at the head of the army, making 
all necessary arrangements, without being obliged to rendezvous 
on account of any one. Being certain that Ins discipline, and or- 
ders would be punctually enforced, he marched with confidence 
against the enemy. When they were ready to march, each sub- 
ord irate Chief was compelled to be provided with the liquor 
wliich they called medicine oi war; and the ('reeks placed in it, 
such ;i degree of confidence that it was difficult for a War Chief 
to collect his army if they were deprived of it. He would be ex- 
posed to great danger if he should be forced to do battle without, 
having satisfied this necessity, [f be should suffer defeat, winch 

would certainly he the case, because the warriois would have no 

confidence in themselves, but, be overcome by their own supersti- 
tious fears, In; would be responsible tor all misfortunes. 

There were two medicines, the great and the little, and it re 
mained for the Chief to designate which of these should be used. 
The warrior, when he had partaken of the great medicine, be- 
lieved himself invulnerable. The little medicine served, in his 
eyes, to diminish danger. Pull of confidence in the statements 
of his Chief , the latter easily persuaded him that, when he gave him 

only the little medicine it was because the ci rcumst aiic.es did not 

require the other. These medicines being purgative in their na- 
ture, the warrior found himself less endangered by the wounds 

which he might receive. The Creeks had still another means of 

diminishing the danger of their wounds, which consisted in fight- 
ing almost, naked, for it is well known that, particles of cloth re- 
maining in wounds render them more difficult to heal. They 
observed during war the most, rigorous discipline, for 
they neither eat nor drank without an order from the 1 77s 
Chief. They dispensed with drinking, even while passing 



110 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



along the bank of a river, because circumstances had obliged their 
Chief to forbid it, under pain of depriving them of their medicine 
of war, or, rather, of the influence of their talisman. When an 
enemy compelled them to take up arms they never returned 
home without giving him battle, and at least taking a few scalps. 
These may be compared to the colors among civilized troops, 
for when a warrior had killed an enemy he took his scalp, which 
was an honorable trophy for him to return with to his nation. They 
removed them from the head of an enemy with great skill and dex- 
terity. They were not all of the same value, but were classed, 
and it was for the Chiefs, who were the judges of all achievements, 
to decide the value of each. It was in proportion to the num- 
ber and value of these scalps that a Creek advanced in civil as 
well as military rank. It was necessary, in order to occupy a 
station of any importance, to have taken at least seven of them. 
If a young Creek, having been at war, returned without a single 
scalp, he continued to bear the name of his mother, and could not 
marry, but if he returned with a scalp, the principle men assem- 
bled at the grand cabin, to give him a name, that he might aban- 
don that of his mother. They judged of the value of the scalp 
by the dangers experienced in capturing it, and the greater these 
dangers, the more considerable were the title and advancement 
derived from it, by its owner. 

In time of battle, the Great Chief commonly placed himself 
in the centre of the army, and sent reinforcements wherever dan- 
ger appeared most pressing. When he perceived that his forces 
were repulsed and feared that they would yield entirely to the 
efforts of the enemy, he advanced in person, and com- 
1778 bated hand to hand. A cry, repeated on all sides, in- 
formed the warriors of the danger to which a Chief was 
exposed. Immediately the corps de reserve came together, and 
advanced to the spot where the Grand Chief was, in order to force 
the enemy to abandon him. Should he be dead, they would all 
die rather than abandon his body to the enemy, without first se- 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. Ill 

curing his scalp. They attached such value to this relic, and so 
much disgrace to the loss of it, that when the danger was very 
great, and they were not able to prevent his body from falling 
into the hands of the enemy, the warrior who was nearest to the 
dead Chief, took his scalp and fled, at the same time raising a cry, 
known only among the savages. He then went to the spot which 
the deceased Chief had indicated, as the place of rendezvous, 
should his army be beaten. All the subordinate Chiefs, being 
made aware of his death by this cry, made dispositions to retreat ; 
and, this being effected, they proceeded to the election of his suc- 
cessor, before taking any other measures. The Creeks were 
very warlike, and were not rebuffed by defeat. On the morrow, 
after an unfortunate battle, they advanced with renewed intre- 
pidity, to encounter their enemy anew. 

When they advanced towards an enemy, they marched one 
after another, the Chief of the party being at the head. They 
arranged themselves in such a manner as to place the foot of 
every one in the track made by the first. The last one concealed 
even that track with grass. By this means they kept 
from the enemy any knowledge of their number. When 1778 
they made a halt, for the purpose of encamping, they 
formed in a circle, leaving a passage only large enough to admit 
a single man. They sat cross-legged, and each one had his gun 
by his side. The Chief faced the entrance of the circle, and no 
warrior could go out without his permission. At the time of 
sleeping he gave a signal, and after that no person could stir. 
Rising was performed at the same signal. It was ordinarily the 
Grand Chief who marked out positions, and placed sentinels to 
watch for the security of the army. He always had a great num- 
ber of runners, both before and behind, so that an army was 
rarely surprised. They, on the contrary, conducted wars against 
the Europeans entirely by sudden attacks, and they were very 
dangerous to those who were not aware of them.* 

* Sejour dans la nation Creek, par Le Oleic Milf ort, pp. 240, 252, 218, 219. 



112 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



When the Creeks returned from war with captives, they 
marched into their town with shouts and the firing of guns. 
They stripped them naked and put on their feet bear-skin moc- 
casins, with the hair exposed. The punishment was always left 
to the women, who examined their bodies for their war-marks. 
Sometimes the young warriors, who had none of these honorable 
inscriptions, were released and used as slaves. But the warrior 
of middle age, even those of advanced years, suffered death by 
fire. The victim's arms were pinioned, and one end of a strong 
grape vine tied around his neck, while the other was fastened to 
the top of a war-pole, so as to allow him to track around a circle 
of fifteen yards. To secure his scalp against fire, tough clay was 
placed upon his head. The immense throng of spectators were 
now filled with delight, and eager to witness the inhuman spec- 
tacle. The suffering warrior was not dismayed, but, with a 
manly and insulting voice, sang the war-song. The women then 
made a furious onset with flaming torches, dripping with hot, 
black pitch, and applied them to his back and all parts of his 
body. Suffering excruciating pain, he rushed from the pole with 
the fury of a wild beast, kicking, biting and trampling his cruel 
assailants under foot. But fresh numbers came on, and after a 
long time, and when he was nearly burned to his vitals, they 
ceased and poured water upon him to relieve him — only to pro- 
long their sport. They renewed their tortures, when, with 
champing teeth and sparkling eye-balls, he once more broke 
through the demon throng to the extent of his rope, and acted 
every part that the deepest desperation could prompt. Then he 
died. His head was scalped, his body quartered, and the limbs 
carried over the town in triumph.* 

An enumeration of the towns found in the Creek 
1798 nation by Col. Hawkins, in 1798, will conclude the no- 
tice of the manners and customs of these remarkable 

* Adair, pp. 390-3'Jl. 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 113 

people, though, hereafter, they will often be mentioned, in refer- 
ence to their commerce and wars with the Americans. 

TOWNS AMONG THE UPPER CREEKS. 

Tal-e-se, derived from Tal-o-fau, a town, and e-se, taken — sit- 
uated in the fork of the Eufaube, upon the left bank of the Tal- 
lapooosa. 

Took-a-batcha, opposite Tallese. 

Auttose, on the left side of Tallapoosa, a few miles below the 
latter. 

Ho-ith-le-waule — from h-ith-le, war, and waule, divide — right 
bank of the Tallapoosa, five miles below Auttose. 

Foosce-hat-che — fooso-wau, a bird, and hat-che, tail — two 
miles below the latter, on the right bank. 

Coo-loo- me was below and adjoining the latter. 

E-cun-hut-ke — e-cun-nau, earth, and hut-ke, white — below 
Coo-loo-me, on the same side of the Tallapoosa. 

Sou-vau-no-gee, left bank of the river. 

Mook-lau-sau, a mile below the latter, same side. 

Coo-sau-dee, three miles below the confluence of the Coosa 
and Tallapoosa, on the west bank of the Alabama. 

E-cun-chate — e-cun-na, earth, chate, red — (now a 1798 
part of the city of Montgomery). 

Too-was-sau, three miles below, same side of the Alabama. 

Pau-woe-te, two miles below the latter, on the same side. 

Au-tau-gee, right side of the Alabama, near the mouth 
' f be p" ' a name. 

■* the fork of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, 01 
u.e T Id site of forts Toulouse 

•kchoie-ooche, towns just above the lat' 
^he-ub, hickory tree, and po-*au, iv 
le Coosa, on the plain jus f 






114 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

We-wo-cau — we-wau, water, wo-cau, barking or roaring — on 
creek of that name, fifteen miles above the latter. 

Puc-cun-tal-lau-has-see — epuc-cun-nau, may-apple, tal-lau- 
has-see, old town — in the fork of a creek of that name. 

Coo-sau, on the left bank of that river, between the mouths 
f Eufaule and Nauche (creeks now called Talladega and Kia- 
mulgee). 

Au-be-cho-che, on Nauche creek, five miles from the Coosa. 
Nau-che, on same creek, five miles above the latter. 
Eu-fau-lau-hat-che, fifteen miles still higher up on the same 
jreek. 

Woc-co-coie — woc-co, blow horn, coie, a nest — on Tote-pauf- 
cau creek. 

Hill-au-bee, on col-luffa-creek, which joins Hillaubee creek 
on the right side, one mile below the town. 

Thla-noo-che-au-bau-lau — thlen-ne, mountain, ooche, little, 
au-bau-lau, over — on a branch of the Hillaubee. 
1798 Au-net-te-chap-co — au-net-te, swamp, chap-co, long — 

on a branch of the Hillaubee. 
E-chuse-is-li-gau, where a young thing was found (a child 
was found here) — left side of Hillaubee creek. 

Oak-tau-hau-zau-see— oak-tau-hau, sand, zau-see, great dea — 
on a creek of that name, a branch of the Hillaubee. 
1778 Oc-fus-kee — oc, in, fus-kee, a point, right bank of 

the Tallapoosa. 
T nv-yau-cau, named after New York, when Gen. McGillivrpv 
led from there in 1790, twenty miles abo lViq * 
tft side of the Tallapoosa. 
Took-au-batche-tal-lau-h p 

ii :, ^ide of the river. to <o£ 

Im-mook-fau, a gorget made of a co'h 

ie. ;° : < 

<ree — too-to. corn-house, cai 
v-yau-cau, right bank of 



MODERN INDIANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 115 

Au-che-nau-ul-gau — auche-nau, cedar, ul-gau, all — forty 
miles above New-yau-cau, on a creek. It is the farthest north of 
all the Creek settlements. 

E-pe-sau-gee, on a large creek of that name. 

Sooc he-ah — sooc-cau, hog, he-ah, here — right bank 1798 
of the Tallapoosa, twelve miles above Oc-fus-kee. 

Eu-fau-lau, five miles above Oc-fus-kee, right bank of the 
river. 

Ki-a-li-jee, on the creek of that name, which joins the Talla- 
poosa on the right side. 

Au-che-nau-hat-che — au-che, cedar, hat-che, creek. 

Hat-che-chub-bau — hat-che, creek, chub-bau, middle or half 
way. 

Sou-go-hat-che — sou-go, cymbal (musical instrument), hat- 
che, creek — joins the Tallapoosa on the left side. 

Thlot-lo-gul-gau — thlot-lo, fish, gul-gau, all — called by trad- 
ers "Fish Ponds," on a creek, a branch of the Ul-hau-hat-che. 

O-pil-thluc-co — o-pil-lo-wau, swamp, thlucco, big — twenty 
miles from the Coosa, a creek of that name. 

Pin-e-hoo-te — pin-e-wau, turkey, choo-te, house — a branch of 
the E-pee-sau-gee. 

Po-chuse-hat-che — po-chu-so-wau, hatchet, hat-che, creek — (in 
Coosa county). 

Oc-fus-coo-che, little ocfuskee, four miles above New-yau-cau. 

TOWNS AMONG THE LOWER CREEKS. 

Chat-to-ho-che — chat-to, a stone, ho-che, marked or flowered. 
Such rocks are found in the bed of that river above Ho-ith-le-te- 
gau. This is the origin and meaning of the name of that beauti- 
ful river. 

Cow-e-tough, on the right bank of the Chat-to-ho-che, three 
miles below the falls. 

O-Qow-ocuh-XvAt-che, falls creek, on the right side of the river 
at the termination of the falls. 



16 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Ilatche-canane, crooked creek. 

Woc-coo-che, calf creek. 

0-8Un-nup-pau, moss creek. 

Hat-che-thlucco, big creek. 
1798 Cow-e-tuh Tal-hau-has-se — Cowetuh Tal-lo-fau, a 

town, basse, old — three miles below Cowetuh, on the 
right bank of the Chattahoochie. 

We-tum-cau — we-wau, water, tum-cau, rumbling — a main 
branch of the Uchee creek. 

Cus-se-tuh, live miles below Cow-e-tuh, on the left bank of 
the Chattahoochie. 

Au-put-tau-e, a village of Cussetuh, on llat-che-thluc-co, 
twenty miles from the river. 

U-chee, on the right bank of the Chat-to-ho-che, ten miles 
below Cowetuh Tallauhassee, and just below the mouth of the 
Uchee creek. 

In-tuch-cul-gau — in-tuch-ke, dam across 'water — ul-gau, all; 
a Uchee village, on Opil-thlacco, twenty-eight miles from its junc- 
tion with the Flint river. 

Pad-gee-li-gau — pad-jee, a pigeon — li-gan, sit, pigeon roost — 
on the right bank of Flint river (a Uchee village). 

Toc-co-qul-egau, tadpole, on Kit-cho-foone creek (a Uchee 
village). 

Oose-00-chee, two miles below Uchee, on the right bank of 
the Chattahoochie. 

Che-au-hau, below and adjoining the latter. 

Au-muc-cul-le, pour upon me, on a creek of that name, which 
joins on the right side of the Flint. 

O-tel-who-yan-nau, hurricane town, on the right bank of the 
Flint. 

Ilit-che-tee, on the left bank of the Chattahoochie, one mile 
below Che-au-hau. 

Che-au-hoo-chee, Little Cheauhaw, one mile and a half west 
from Ilit-che-tee. 



modkkn [NIHANS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI. 117 

llit-che-too-che, Little Ilitchetee, on both sides of the Flint. 

Tut-tal-lo-see, /owl, on a creek of that name. 

Pala-chooc-le, on the right bank of the Chatta- 
hoochie. 1798 

()-co-nee, six miles below the latter, on the left bank 
of the Chattahoochie. 

Sou-woo-ge-lo, six miles below Oconee, on the right bank. 

Sou-woog-e-loo-che, four miles below Oconee, on the left bank 
of the Chattahoochie. 

Eu-fau-la, fifteen miles below the latter, on the left bank of 
the same river. 

From this town settlements extended occasionally to the 
mouth of the Flint.* 

* Hawkins' " Sketch of the Creek Country In 1798 '»'»," pp. 26 86. [n addition to the 
published copy o I this interesting pamphlet, sent to me by 1. K. Tefflt, Esq., <it Savan 
nah, the Hon. F. W. Pickens, ol South Carolina, loaned me a manuscripl copy <>r the 
same work, written by Col. Hawkins for his grandfather, Gen. Andrew Pickens, who 
was an intimate friend of Hawkins, and was associated with him In several Importanl 
Indian treaties, and whose name will often be mentioned hereafter. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MOBILIANS, ClIATOTS, TlIOMEZ AND TENSAS. 

In 1718, the French West India Company sent, from Ro- 
chelle, eight hundred colonists to Louisiana. Among them was 
a Frenchman of intelligence and high standing, named Le Page 
Du Pratz, who was appointed superintendent of the public 
plantations. After a residence of sixteen years in this country, 
he returned to France, and published an interesting work upon 
Louisiana. Du Pratz was often at Mobile, and about the 
period of 1721 found living, in that vicinity, a few small 1721 
tribes of Indians, whom we will now describe. 

The Chatots were a very small tribe, who composed a town 
of about forty huts, adjoining the bay and river of Mobile. They 
appear to have resided at or near the present city of Mobile. The 
Chatots were great friends of the French settlers, and most of 
them embraced the Catholic religion. North from Mobile, and 
upon the first bluffs on the same side of the river of that name, 
lived the Thorn ez, who were not more numerous than the 
Chatots, and who, also, had been taught to worship the true God. 
( Opposite to them, upon the Tensa river, lived a tribe of Tensas, 
whose settlement consisted of one hundred huts. They were a 
branch of the Natchez, and, like them, kept a perpetual fire 
burning in their temple. 

Further north, and near the confluence of the Tombigby and 
Alabama, and above there, the Mobilians still existed. It was 
from these people, a remnant of whom survived the invasion of 
De Soto, that the city, river and bay derive their names.* They, 
also, kept a fire in their temple, which was never suffered for a 
* Du Prate's Louisiana, pp. 308-309. 

118 



MOBILIANS, CHATOTS, THOMEZ AND TENSAS. 119 

moment to expire. Indeed, they had some pre-eminence in this 
particular — for, formerly, the natives obtained this holy light 
from their temples.* These small tribes were all living 
in peace with each other, upon the discovery of their 1721 
country by the French, and continued so. Gradually, 
however, they became merged in the larger nations of the Choc- 
taws and Chickasaws. They were all, sometimes, called the Mo- 
bile Indians, by the early French settlers. 

The Natchez once inhabited the southwestern portion of the 
Mexican empire, but on account of the wars with which they 
were continually harassed by neighboring Indians, they began 
to wander northeast. Finally they settled upon the banks of the 
Mississippi, chiefly on the bluff where now stands the beautiful 
city which bears their name.f They retained, until they were 
broken up by the French, many of the religious rites 
and customs of the Mexicans. Their form of govern- 1721 
ment was distinguished from that of other tribes in Ala- 
bama and Mississippi, by its ultra despotism, and by the grandeur 
and haughtiness of its Chiefs. The Grand Chief of the Natchez 
bore the name of the Sun. Every morning, as soon as that 
bright luminary appeared, he stood at the door his cabin, turned 
his face toward the east, and bowed three times, at the same time 
prostrating himself to the ground. A pipe, which was never used 
but upon this occasion, was then handed him, from which he 
putted smoke, first toward the Sun, and then toward the other 
three quarters of the world. He pretended that he derived his 
origin from the Sun, acknowledged no other master, and held 
absolute power over the lives and goods of his subjects. When 
he or his nearest female relation died, his body-guard was 
obliged to follow to the land of spirits. The death of a Chief 
sometimes resulted in that of an hundred persons, who consid- 
ered it a great honor to be sacrificed upon his death. Indeed 
few Natchez of note djed without being attended to the other 

* Charlevoix's •« Voyage to North America," vol. 2, p. 273. t Du Pratz's Louisiana. 



120 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



world by some of their relatives, friends or servants. So eager 

were persons to sacrifice themselves in this way, that 
1721 sometimes it was ten years before their turn came, and 

those who obtained the favor, spun the cord with which 
they were to be strangled.* 

The cabins of the Natchez were in the shape of pavilions, 
low, without windows, and covered with corn-stalks, leaves and 
cane matting. That of the Great Chief, which stood upon an 
artificial mound, and fronted a large square, was handsomely 
rough-cast with clay, both inside and out. The temple was at 
the side of his cabin, facing the east, and at the extremity of the 
square. It was in an oblong form, forty feet in length and 
twenty in breadth. Within it were the bones of the deceased 
Chiefs, contained in boxes and baskets. Three logs of wood, 
joined at the ends and placed in a triangle, occupied the middle 
part of the floor, and burned slowly away, night and day. Keep- 
ers attended and constantly removed them.f The Great Sun in- 
formed Da Pratz, who had, in 1820, taken up his abode among 
them, that their nation was once very formidable, extending over 
vast regions and governed by numerous Suns and nobility; that 
one of the keepers of the temple once left it on some business, and 
while he was absent his associate keepers fell asleep ; that the fire 

went out, and that, in the terror and dismay into which 
1721 they were thrown, they substituted profane fire, with the 

hope that their shameful neglect would escape unno- 
ticed. But a dreadful calamity was the consequence of this 
negligence. A horrible malady raged for years, during which 
many of the Suns, and an infinite number of people, died. t This 
fire was kept constantly burning in honor of the Sun, which they 
seemed to worship and adore above everything else. In the spring 
of 1700 Ibenville, in company with a few of his colonial people, 
visited the Natchez. While there, one of the temples was con- 

* Charlevoix's " Voyage to North America," pp. 260-261. 

t Charlevoix's Voyage to North America, p. 256. % Du Pratz' Louisiana, p. 333. 





a 


> 


■i 


T? 


/ 


2. 


X 


3" 

03 


J: 


<rt- 


— . 






et 




~ 


7: 




J 



o ►- 
5 B 

o ^ 
§*B 

1— 1 

5 
^ 3 

- 1 a; 
33 

Q. 



a 




%%&*?:. ■■!■■ 1 \y ) / 



122 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

sumed by lightning. The Priests implored the women to cast 

their children into the flames to appease the anger of 

1700 their divinity. Before the French, by prayers and 

entreaties, could arrest this horrible proceeding, some of 

the innocent babes were already roasting in the flames.* At this 

time the Natchez, reduced by war and the death of the nobility, 

upon whose decease the existence of many others terminated, did 

not exceed a population of twelve hundred. 

Fort Rosalie, erected by the French in 1716, upon the bluff 
which sustains the city of Natchez, had a garrison of 
1729 soldiers and numerous citizens. On the morning of the 
Nov. 28 28th November, 1729, the Great Sun and his warriors 
suddenly fell upon them, and before noon the whole male 
population were in the sleep of death. The women, children and 
slaves were reserved as prisoners of war. The consternation was 
great throughout the colony when this horrible massacre became 
known. The French and Choctaws united, and drove the 
Natchez upon the lower Washita, just below the mouth of the 
Little River. Here they erected mounds and embank- 
1733 ments for defense, which covered an area of four hun- 
Jan. dred acres. In the meantime, having obtained assist- 
ance from France, the colonists marched against this 
stronghold, and, in January, 1733, made a successful attack. They 
captured the Great Sun, several of the War Chiefs and four hun- 
dred and twenty-seven of the tribe, who were sent from New 
Orleans to St. Domingo as slaves. The remainder of the tribe 
made their escape. Some of them sought asylum among the 
Chickasaws and Creeks, while others scattered in the far West.f 

* Gayarre's History of Louisiana, vol. 1, p. 73. 
t The Natchez have been mentioned at length by a number of French authors, who 
were eye witnesses of their bloody rites and ceremonies. See Bossu's Travels in Louis- 
iana, vol. 1, pp. 32-67. Dumont's Louisiana, vol. 1, pp. 118-132. Charlevoix's Voyage to 
North America, vol. 2, pp. 252-274. Du Pratz's Louisiana, pp. 79-95-291-316. Les Natchez 
par M. Le Vicompte de Chateaubriand— of this work 400 pages are taken up with the 
Natchez. Jesuits in America— a recent publication. Many other works in my posses- 
sion, upon Louisiana and Florida, allude briefly to that tribe. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Choctaws and Chickasaws. 

The Choctaws and Chickasaws descended from a people 
called the Chickemicaws, who were among the first inhabitants 
of the Mexican empire. At an ancient period they began to 
wander towards the east, in company with the Choc- 
comaws. After a time they reached the Mississippi Period 
river and crossed it, arriving in this country with an unknown 
aggregate force of ten thousand warriors. The Choc- 
comaws established themselves upon the head-waters of the Ya- 
zoo, the Chickasaws upon the northwestern sources of the Tom- 
bigbee, and the Choctaws upon the territory now embraced in 
southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. They thus 
gradually became three distinct tribes ; but the Chickasaws and 
Choccomaws were generally known by the name of the former > 
while the Choctaws spoke the same language, with the exception 
of a difference produced by the intonation of the voice.* 

Upon the first settlement of Mobile by the French, they 
found that the Choctaws and the remnant of the Mobi- 
lians employed the same language. Indeed, we have 1700 
seen that the Mobihan Chief, in 1540, had a name which 
was derived from two well-known Choctaw words — Tusca, loar- 
rior, and lusa, black. The Indians who fought De Soto at 
Cabusto, upon the Warrior, and who extended their lines 
six miles up and down its western banks to oppose his 1540 
crossing, were the Pafallayas. They are believed to 
have been no other people than the Choctaws. There is a word 

* Adair's American Indians, pp. 5, 66, 352. 

123 



124 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



in the language of the latter called fallaya, long* It is scarcely 

necessary to remind the reader that the Chickasaws 
1541 were living in the upper part of Mississippi when De 

Soto invaded it, and that they fought him with great 
courage. Now, as the Choctaws, according to tradition, came 
with them into this country, and were a portion of the same 
family, ib is reasonable to suppose that the Pafallayas, the brave 
allies of Tuscaloosa, were the Choctaws — especially when taken 
in connection with the collateral evidence in our possession. The 
tradition of the migration of the Chickasaws and 
Period Choctaws from the Mexican empire has been pre- 
unknown served by the former alone ; while the latter, with 
few exceptions, have lost it. On the road leading 
from St. Stephens, in Alabama, to the city of Jackson, Missis- 
sippi, was, some years ago, a large mound, embracing at the base 
about two acres, and rising about forty feet high in a conical 
form, and enclosed by a ditch encompassing twenty acres. On 
the top of it was a deep hole, ten feet in circumference, out of 
which the ignorant portion of the Choctaws believed that their 
ancestors once sprung as thick as bees, peopling the whole of 
that part of the country. They had great regard for this arti- 
ficial elevation, and called it Nannawyah, the signification of 
which is nanna, hill, and wyah, mother. When hunting near this 
mound they were accustomed to throw into the hole the leg of a 
deer, thus feeding their mother. One clay, in 1810, Mr. Geo. S. 

Gaines, the United States Choctaw Factor, in going to 
1810 the Agency, roue up on this mound, which lay near the 

road. Presently a good many warriors passed by, and, 
after he had satisfied his curiosity, he rode on and overtook 
them. The Chief, who was no less a personage than the cele- 
brated Pushmatahaw, with a smile full of meaning and mischief, 
said : " Well, Mr. < Gainis? I suppose you have been to pay our 

* Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society, vol. 2, p. 105. (A paper read 
before the society by Albert Gallatin.) 



THE CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS. 125 



mother a visit; and what did she say ?" "Your mother," said the 
Factor, "observed that her children were poor, had become too 
numerous to inhabit the country they were then occupying, and 
desired very much that they would sell their lands to the United 
States, and move west of the Mississippi, to better and more ex- 
tensive hunting grounds."* The old Chief laughed immoderately, 
vociferating, " Holauba ! holauba! feenah. (It's a lie, it's a lie, 
it's a real lie.) Our good mother never could have 
made such remarks." On the journey he conversed 1810 
much with Mr. Gaines upon the Indian traditions, and 
said that the true account was that his ancestors came from the 
west.f 

In 1771, the population of the Choctaw nation was consid- 
erable. Two thousand three hundred warriors were upon the 
superintendent's books at Mobile, while two thousand 
more were scattered over the country, engaged in hunt- 1771 
ing. At that period Capt. Roman passed through sev- 
enty of their towns. J The eastern district of the nation was 
known as Oy-pat-oO-coo-la, or the small 7iation. The western 
was called Oo-coo-la, Falaya. Oo-coola, Hanete and Chickasaha. 
These people were more slender in their forms than other 
tribes. The men were raw-boned and astonishingly active. 
None could excel them in the ball play, or run as fast 
upon level ground. § Both sexes were well made, and 1745 
the features of the females w r ere lively and agreeable. 
They had the habit of inscribing their faces and bodies with a 
blue indelible ink, which appears to have been the practice of 
all the tribes to which it has been our province to allude. The 
Choctaws formed the heads of the infants into different shapes 
by compression, but it was chiefly applied to the forehead, and 
hence they were called by traders "flat heads." The infant was 



t .? Il ? &s the P ollc >' of a11 the Indian Agents to encourage the emigration of the 
Indians further west, and they never let an opportunity slip of alluding to it. 

t Conversations with Mr. George S. Gaines See, also, Barnard Roman's Florida, 
pp. 71-90. t Roman, pp. 70-90. § Adair. 



126 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

placed in a cradle, with his feet elevated twelve inches above a 
horizontal position, while his head was bent back and rested in a 
hole made for the purpose. A small bag of sand was fixed upon 
the forehead, and as the little fellow could not move, the shape 
required was soon attained, for at that age the skull is capable of 

receiving any impression.* 
1745 The dress of the male Choctaw was similar to that 

of the Creeks, and was influenced in its style by his 
wealth or poverty. But they all wore the buck-she-ah-ma, flap, 
made of woolen cloth or buckskin. The female had usually only 
a petticoat reaching from the waist to the knees, while some 
of the richer classes wore a covering also upon the neck and 
shoulder, and little bells fastened to a buckskin garter, which 
clasped the leg just below the knee. They wore ornaments in 

their ears, noses and around the fingers, like the Creeks. 
1759 They were not cleanly in their persons like the Creeks, 

who were eternally engaged in bathing ; but, strange to 
relate of Indians, very few of the Choctaws could swim, a fact 
recorded by all early travellers among them. As they seldom 
bathed, the smoke of their lightwood fires made their bodies as- 
sume a soot color.! Peculiarly fond of the taste of horse flesh, 

they preferred it to beef, even if the animal had died a 
1780 natural death ; and it was not uncommon for them to de- 
vour snakes when hard pressed for food. i Yet, notwith- 
standing, they were, upon the whole, very agreeable Indians, being 
invariably cheerful, witty and cunning. The men, too, unlike the 
proud Chiefs of other nations, helped the women to work, and 
did not consider it a degradation to hire themselves for that pur- 
pose to their constant friends, the French, and afterwards to the 

English. § No Indians, moreover, excelled them in hos- 
1771 pitality, which they exhibited particularly in their 

hunting camps, where all travelers and visitors were 

• Adair, pp. 8-9. t Rossu's Travels, p. 298. 

+ Milfort, p. 290; Adair, p. 133. g Roman, pp. 71-90. 



THE CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS. 127 



received and entertained with a hearty welcome. In regard to 
their habits in the chase, it may here be observed, that they ex- 
celled in killing bears, wild-cats and panthers, pursuing them 
through the immense cane swamps with which their country 
abounded ; bat that the Creeks and Chickasaws were superior to 
them in overcoming the fleet deer. While hunting, the liver of 
the game was divided into as many pieces as there were camp- 
fires, and was carried around by a boy, who threw a piece into 
each fire, intended, it would seem, as a kind of sacrifice. 

The Choctaws were superior orators. They spoke with good 
^ense, and used the most beautiful metaphors. They had the 
power of changing the same words into different significations, 
and even their common speech was full of these changes. 
Their orations were concise, strong and full of fire.* 1745 
Excessive debauchery, and a constant practice of beg- 
ging, constituted their most g, u*ing faults ; and it was amusing 
to witness the many ingenious devices and shifts to which they 
resorted to obtain presents. 

Timid in war against an enemy abroad, they fought like des- 
perate veterans when attacked at home. On account of their re- 
pugnance to invading the country of an enemy, in which they 
were unlike the Creeks and Chickasaws, they were often taunted 
by these latter nations with cowardice. Frequently, ex- 
asperated by these aspersions, they would boldly chal- 1745 
lenge the calumniators to mortal combat upon an open 
field. But the latter, feigning to believe that true Indian cour- 
age consisted in slyness and stratagem, rarely accepted the ban- 
ter. However, in 1765, an opportunity offered in the streets of 
Mobile, when Hoopa, at the head of forty Choctaws, fell 
upon three hundred Creeks, and routed and drove them 1765 
across the river, into the marsh. Hooma alone killed 
fifteen of them, and was then despatched himself, by a retreating 
Creek. They were pursued no further, because the Choctaws 
could not swim. ______ 

* Adair, p. 11. 



128 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

They did not torture a prisoner, in a protracted manner, like 
other tribes. He was brought home, despatched with a bullet or 
hatchet, and cut up, and the parts burned. The scalp was sus- 
pended from the hot-house, around which the women danced until 
they were tired. They were more to be relied upon as allies 
than most other American Indians. The Creeks were 
1765 their greatest enemies. In August, 1765, a war began 
Aug. between them, and raged severely for six years.* Art- 
ful in deceiving an enemy, they attached the paws or 
trotters of panthers, bears and buffaloes to their own feet and 
hands, and wound about the woods, imitating the circlings of 
those animals. Sometimes a large bush was carried by the front 
warrior, concealing himself and those behind him, while the one 
in the extreme rear defaced all the tracKs with grass. Most excel- 
lent trackers themselves, they well understood how to deceive 
the enemy, which they, also, effected by astonishing powers in 
imitating every fowl and quadruped. Their leader could never 
directly assume the command, but had, rather, to conduct his 
operations by persuasion, f 

Gambling was a common vice, and even boys engaged in it 
by shooting at marks for a wager. In addition to the great ball 
play, which was conducted like that of the Creeks, already de- 
scribed, they had an exciting game called Chunke, or, 
1745 by some of the traders "running hard labor." Anal- 
ley was made, two hundred feet long, with a hard clay 
surface, which was kept swept clean. Two men entered upon it 
to play. They stood six yards from the upper end, each with a 
pole twelve feet long, smooth, and tapering at the end, and with 
the points flat. One of them took a stone in the shape of a 
grind-stone, which was two spans round, and two inches thick on 
the edges. He gave it a powerful hurl down the alley, when both 
set off after it, and running a few yards, the one who did not roll, 
cast his pole, which was annointed with bear's oil, with a true 

* Roman, pp. 70-91. t Adair, p. 309— Bossu, p. 297. 



THE CHOCTAWS AND CHICK A SAWS. 129 

aim at the stone in its flight. The other player, to defeat his ob- 
ject, immediately darted his pole, aiming to hit the pole of his an- 
tagonist. If the first one hit the stone he counted one, and if the 
other, by the dexterity of his cast, hit his pole and knocked it 
from its proper. direction, he also counted one. If both of the 
players missed, the throw was renewed. Eleven was 
the game, and the winner had the privilege of casting 1771 
the stone. In this manner the greater part of the day 1745 
was passed, at half speed; the players and bystanders 1759 
staking their ornaments, wearing apparel, skins, pipes 
and arms upon the result. Sometimes, after a fellow had lost all, 
he went home, borrowed a gun, and shot himself. The women, 
also, had a game with sticks and balls, something like the game 
of battledoor.* 

The funeral ceremonies of the Choctaws were singular, and, in- 
deed, horrible, but like those of nearly all the aborigines at the time 
of the invasion of De Soto. As soon as the breath departed from 
the body of a Choctaw, a high scaffold was erected, thirty-six 
feet from the dwelling where the deceased died. It consisted of 
four forks set in the ground, across which poles were laid, and 
then a floor made of boards or cypress bark. It was stockaded 
with poles, to prevent the admission of beasts of prey. The 
posts of the scaffold were painted with a mixture of vermilion and 
bear's oil, if the deceased was an Indian of note. The body, 
enveloped in a large bear skin, was hauled up on the scaffold by 
ropes or vines, and laid out at length. The relations assembled, 
and wept and howled with mournful voices, asking 
strange questions of the corpse, according to the sex to 1782 
which it belonged. " Why did you leave us?" "Did 1771 
your wife not serve you well?" "Were you not con- 1745 
tented with your children ? " "Did you not have corn 1759 
enough?" "Did not your land produce?" "Were 
you afraid of your enemies?" To increase the solemnity and 

* Roman, pp. 70-91.— Adair, p. 402.— Bossu, p. 306. 



180 HISTORY OF ALABAMA.. 

importance of the funeral of a noted Indian, persons were 
hired to cry, the males having their beads hung with black moss, 
and the females suffering their hair to How loosely to the winds. 

These women came at all hours, for several weeks, to mourn 
around the Scaffold ; and, on account of the horrid stench, fre- 
quently fainted and had to he Dome away. When the body had 
thus lain for three or four months, the BONE-PlCKER made his 

appearanoe. in 177^ there were five of these hideous undertak- 
ers in the Choctaw nation, who traveled about, in search of 
scaffolds and the horrible work which will he described. The 

Hone Ticker apprised the relatives Of the deceased that the time 

had arrived when dissection should take place. 1 ' pon the d;iy 

which he had appointed, the relatives, friends, and others hired 

to assist in mourning, surrounded the Scaffold. The 

L745 Bone-Picker mounted upon it, with horrid grimaces and 
1771 groans, took oil' the skin, and commenced his disgust- 
1782 ing work. He had very Long and hard nails growing on 

1777 the thumb, fore and middle fingers of each hand. He 
tore oil" the flesh With his nails, and tied it, up in a bun- 
dle, lie cleaned the hones, and also tied up the scrapings. Leav- 
ing i he Latter on the scaffold, he descended with the bones upon his 

head. All this time the assembly moaned and howled most 
awfully. They then painted the head with vermilion, which, to- 
gether with all the hones, was placed in a nice; box with a loose 
lid. I f the hones were t hose of a Chief, t he colVui a'so was painted 
red. Next, lire was applied to the scall'old, around which the 
assembly danced and frightfully whooped until it Mas consumed 
by the llames. Then a Long procession was formed and the hones 

were carried, amid weeping and moaning, to the hone house, of 

which every town Of importance had several. These houses were 

made by Pour pitchpine posts being placed in the ground, upon 
the top of which was a scaffold floor. On this a steep 

17 h r > roof was erected, like that of some modern houses, with 

1771 the gables Left open. There the box was deposited with 



THB OHOCTAWS AND CHICKA8AW8. 181 

other boxes containing bones. In the meantime a great 1782 
feast had been prepared, and (sometimes three horses were 1777 

OOOked up, if the deceased was wealthy. But. the infer- 
nal Bone-Picker still was master of ceremonies, and having only 

wiped his lilfliy, bloody hands with grass, served out the food to 

the whole assembly.* 

When the bone-house was full of chests, a general interment 
took place. Tin- people assembled, bore <>tv the ehests in proces- 
sion to a plain, wit 1 1 weeping, howlingand ejaculations of Allelu- 
jah ! Alielujah ! The chests containing the hones were arranged 
upon the ground in order, forming a pyramid. Then they covered 
all with earth, which raised a conical mound. Then returning 

home, th<" day was concluded with a feast. t 

The Cboctaws entertained a great veneration for their medi- 
cine men or doctors, who practiced upon tliem constant 
frauds. Their fees were exorbitant, and required to be L746 

Satisfied In advance. When a doctor had attended a 

patient a long time, and the latter had nothing more to give as 
payment, he usually assembled the relations in private, 

informed them that Ik; had done ull in his power, and 1771 

had exhausted his skill in endeavoring to restore their 

friend; that he would surely die. and it was best to terminate his 
sufferings. Reposing the blindest confidence in this in- 
human declaration, two of them then jumped upon the 1777 
poor fellow and strangled him. In 1782, one of these doc- 1782 
tors thus began to consult With the relations upon the 
Case "I a pool- fellow. While they were out of the house, Ik; sus- 
pected their intentions, and making an unnatural effort, (trawled 

to tin; woods which fortunately were near the house. It was night, 
and he succeeded in getting beyond their reach. The doctor 
persuaded them that he was certainly dead, and they erected a 
scaffold as though he were upon it and wept around it. Fortun- 

• \.i;ur, pp. 138-188. Roman, pp. 7l-:m. ftfllfort, pp. 288-298. 
t Barl nun, pp . r 'i i-. r >ir>. 



132 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

ately, laying his bands upon an opossum, the poor fellow eat of 
it from time to time, and gained strength., now that he had 
escaped the clutches of the doctor, who had nearly smoked and 
bled him into the other world. At length, after much suffering, he 
made his way to the Creek nation and threw himself upon the 
compassion of Colonel McGillivray, who had him restored to 
health by proper attention. Again going back to his nation, at 
the expiration of three months, he arrived at the house from 
which he had escaped, at the very time that the people were 
celebrating his funeral by burning the scaffold and dancing 
around it. His sudden appearance filled them with horror and 
dismay. Some fled to the woods, others fell upon the ground. 
Alarmed himself, he retreated to the house of a neighbor, who 
instantly fell on his face, saying, " Why have you left the land 
of spirits if you were happy there? Why do you return among 
us V Is it to assist in the last feast which your family and your 
friends make for you ? Go, return to the land of the dead for 
fear of renewing the sorrow which they have felt at your loss ! " 

Shunned by all his people, the poor Choctaw went 
1782 back to the Creek nation, married a Tuskegee woman, 

and lived in that town the balance of his life. Before 
his door lay the four French cannon of old Fort Toulouse. When 
the Choctaws had become satisfied that he did not die, and was 
really alive, they killed the doctor who had deceived them. 
They often entreated the fellow to return home, but he preferred 
to remain among a people who would not strangle him when he 
was sick.* 

The Choctaws had no other religion than that which at- 
tached to their funeral rites. The French, to whom they were 
warmly attached, sought in vain to convert them to Christianity. 
At Chickasaha, they erected a chapel and gave the control of it 
to a Jesuit missionary. When the English took possession of 
this country, the Chocktaws of that place would, for the amuse- 

* Milfort, pp 298-304. 



THE CHOCTAW'S AND CHICK AS A WS. 133 

ment of their new friends, enter the old chapel, and go through 
the Catholic ceremonies, mimicing the priest with surprising 
powers. In 1771, Capt. Roman saw the lightwood cross still 
standing, but the chapel had been destroyed. 

The Chickasaws, although at the period of 1771 a small 
nation, were once numerous, and their language was 
spoken by many tribes in the Western States. They 1771 
were the fiercest, most insolent, haughty and cruel peo- 
ple among the Southern Indians. They had proved their bravery 
and intrepidity in constant wars. In 1541, they attacked the 
camp of De Soto in a most furious midnight assault, 
threw his army into dismay, killed some of his soldiers, 1541 
destroyed all his baggage, and burnt up the town in 
which he was quartered. In 1736, they whipped the French 
under Bienville, who had invaded their country, and forced them 
to retreat to Mobile. In 1753, MM. Bevist and Regio encoun- 
tered defeat at their hands. They continually attacked 
the boats of the French voyagers upon the Mississippi 1753 
and Tennessee. They were constantly at war with the 
Kickapoos and other tribes upon the Ohio, but were defeated in 
most of these engagements. But, with the English as their 
allies, they were eminently successful against the Choctaws and 
Creeks, with whom they were often at variance. 

The Chickasaws were great robbers, and, like the Creeks, 
often invaded a country, killing the inhabitants and carrying off 
slaves and plunder. The men considered the cultivation of the 
earth beneath them; and, when not engaged in hunting or war- 
fare, slept away their time or played upon flutes, while their 
women were at work. They were athletic, well-formed and 
graceful. The women were cleanly, industrious, and generally 
good-looking. 

In 1771, they lived in the centre of a large and 1771 
gently rolling prairie, three miles square. They ob- 
tained their water from holes, which dried up in summer. In 



134 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

this prairie was an assemblage of houses one mile and a half 
long, very narrow, and irregular, which was divided into seven 
towns, as follows : 

Mellattau — hat and feather. 

Chatelau — copper town. 

Chuckafalaya — long town. 

Hickihaw — stand still. 

Chucalissa — great town. 

Tuckahaw — a certain weed. 

Ash-wick-boo-ma — red grass. 

The last was once well fortified with palisades, and there 
they defeated D'Artaguette. The nearest running water was 
two miles distant ; the next was four miles off, to which point 
canoes could ascend from the Tombigby in high tide. The ford, 
which often proved difficult of crossing, was called Na- 
1771 hoola Inalchubba— the white man's hard labor. Horses 
and cattle increased rapidly in this country. The breed 
of the former descended from importations from Arabia to Spain, 
from Spain to Mexico, and from thence to the Chickasaw nation. 
Here they ran wild in immense droves, galloping over the beau- 
tiful prairies, the sun glittering upon their various colors. They 
were owned by the Indians and traders. 

The Chickasaws were very imperious in their carriage to- 
wards females, and extremely jealous of their wives. Like the 
Creeks, they punished adultery by beating with poles 
1771 until the sufferer was senseless, and then concluded by 
cropping the ears, and, for the second offence, the nose 
or a piece of the upper lip. Notwithstanding they resided so far 
from large streams, they were all excellent swimmers, and their 
children were taught that art in clay holes and pools, which re- 
mained filled with water unless the summer was remarkably dry 

Of all the Indians in America, they were the most expert in 
tracking. They would follow their flying enemy on a long gallop 
over any kind of ground without mistaking, where perhaps only 



THE CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS. 135 

a blade of grass bent down told the footprint. Again, 
when they were leisurely hunting over the woods, and 1782 
came upon an indistinct trail recently made by Indians, 1745 
they knew at once of what nation they were by the 1759 
footprints, the hatchet chops upon the trees, their camp- 
fires, and other distinguishing marks. They were also esteemed 
to be admirable hunters, and their extensive plains and unbroken 
forests afforded them the widest field for the display of their 
skill. In 1771 their grounds extended from Middle Mississippi 
to the mouth of the Ohio, and some distance into the territory of 
the present State of Tennessee. But this extreme northern 
ground they visited with caution, and only in the win- 
ter, when their northern enemies were close at home. 1745 
They were often surprised on the sources of the Yazoo, 1782 
but below there, and as far east as the branches of the 1759 
Tombigby to Oaktibbehaw they hunted undisturbed. 
This last point they regarded as the boundary between them 
and the Choctaws. With the latter they had no jealousies in re- 
gard to the chase, and they sported upon each others' grounds 
when not at war. Although the country of the Chickasaws 
abounded with that valuable animal, the beaver, they left 
them for the traders to capture, saying, "Anybody can 1771 
kill a beaver." They pursued the more noble and diffi- 
cult sport of overcoming the fleet deer, and the equally swift and 
more formidable elk. 

The summer habitations of the Chickasaws were cabins of 
an oblong shape, near which were corn-houses. In the yard stood 
also a winter house of a circular form. Having no chimneys, the 
smoke found its way out of this " hot-house " wherever it could. 
These they entered and slept all night, stifled with 
smoke, and, no matter how cold the morning, they came 1745 
forth naked and sweating as soon as the day dawned. 
These houses were used by the sick also, who, remaining in them 



186 msiuK'Y ok ALABAMA, 



until perspiration ensued, jumped suddenly into holes of cold 
water. 

They dried and pounded their corn before it came to matur- 
ity, which they called Boota-capassa — coal flow, A small quan- 
tity of this thrown into water swelled immediately, and made a 

line beverage. They used hickory nut and bear's oil, 
1771 and the traders l earned them to make the hams of the 

bear into bacon. In 1771 the whole number of gunmen 
in the ( 'hiokasaw nut ion only amounted to about two hundred and 
titty. It is astonishing- what a, handful of warriors had so long kept 
neighboring nations of great strength from destroying them. 

They buried their dead the moment vitality ceased, in the 

very spot where the bed stood upon which thedeceased 
1771 lay, and the nearest relatives mourned over it with woe- 
ful lamentations. This mourning continued for twelve 
moons, the women practising it openly and vociferously, and the 
men silently.* 

The modern leader may form some idea of the Chickasaw 
and Choctaw nations, as they once existed, by briefly tracing the 
route of Captain Roman through their country. He began his 

tour at Mobile, encamped at Spring Hill, passed the head 

1771 waters of Dog river, and again encamped at Bouge 

Sept. 'JO Ilooma — red creek — the boundary between the English 

and the Choctaws. Pursuing his journey, the camp 
was pitched at Iloopa Ulla noisy owl — where he saw the Creek 

painting described upon page 95. Then passing Okee 
Sept. 80 [Jlla — noisy water — and the towns of Coosa, Haanka 

Ulla — howling goose — he crossed a. branch of the Sook- 
han-Hatoha river. He reached a deserted town called Etuck 

Chukke — blue wood — passed through Abecka, an inhab- 
Oot. 5 ited town, and there crossed another branch of the Sook- 

han-Hatcha, and arrived at Ebeetap Oocoola, where the 
Chootaws had erected a large stockade fort. A southwestern di- 



• Barnard Roman's Florida, pp. 59-71. 



THE OHOGTAWS AND rim KASAWs. L87 

rection was now assumed, and Captain Roman passed through 

the following towns : Chooka, Hoola, Oka Hoola, Hoola 

Taffa, Ebeetap Ocoola Cho, Oka Attakkala, and cross- Oot. 28 

ing Bouge Pooka and Bouge Chitto, which runs into 

Bouge Aithe Tanne, arrived at the house of Benjamin .lames, at 

Chickasaha. 

He set out from this place for the Chickasaw nation, and 
crossed only two streams of importance — Nashooba and 
Oktibbehaw. Without accident lie arrived at the ('hick- Nov. 10 
asaw towns enumerated upon page 184, and Lying within 
a tew miles of Pontitoc. He proceeded east-by-south five miles 
and crossed Nahoola-Inal-chubba — town creek — and then 
assumed a southeast direction, and arrived at the Twenty- Dec. s 
mile creek, a large branch of the; Tombigby. At the 
mouth of Nahoola-Inalchubba, Captain Roman found a Large 
canoe, in which he and his companions embarked and proceeded 
down the Tombigby. One mile below, on the west bank, bhey 

passed a bluff on which the French formerly had a for- 
tified trading post. Captain Roman next saw the 1771 
mouth'of the Oktibbehaw, the dividing Line between Dec. w> 
the two nations, and passed fin; mouth of the Nasheba, 1 11'2 
on the east. Floating with rapidity down tin; river, Jan. 6-7 
he next came to the Noxshubby, on the west side, and 
then to the mouth a creek called Etomba-Igaby — box maker's 
creek — where the French had a fort/ From this creek, the 
name of which has been corrupted by the French to "Tom- 
beckbe," and by the Americans to " Tombigby," the river takes 
its name. Upon it lived an Indian who made chests to hold the 
bones of the Choctaws. 

Roman came to the confluence of the Tombigby and War- 
rior, and, a little below, passed some steep chalky bluffs, 
which the traders called the Chickascw Gallery i be- .Ian. 10 
cause from this point they were accustomed to shoot at 

» Now Jones' Bluff. 



1,'JH HISTORY OF ALABAMA, 



tin- French boaU. ( >u tbe top ol this bluff was a vast plain, 
with gome remains <»i buts standing upon it.* Three miles be 
low I, in- mouth «>i tbe Boukan Hatoba, Roman came upon the old 
towns of the Ooosawdas and OahchoU, commencing at Saotu 
loosa black i>i"j) and extending from thence down tbe river for 
some distanoe.1 Next, passing a bigb bluff oalled Nanna Pal 
laya, be reached Batoba Cbooka, a bluff on tbe east side, where 

in-, enoountered ;> desperate band ot thieves, belonging 

1 77ii to the town or Okaloosa, of the Chootaws. He then 

Jan. 18 oame to some bluffs <*:t n<-« i Nanna Obabaws, where ;< 

gray flat rook, oalled Teeakbaily Ekutapa, rises out or 
the water i Here the people of ( !hiokasaha onoe bad a settlement. 

Lower down, I, he party saw a, Mull ii| on the east side, called 

STagna Eioolah— beloved ground ami encamped at tbe 

\ll>i mouth ot Sintabouge — snake creek three miles below 

Jan. 20 whiob was tbe English line separating them from the 

the Chootaws. Having entered the British settlements* 

Captain L'oman continued his voyage until he reached Mobile. | 

* Now i in , ii c ..i i temopoliii 

|< florae of the Alabama* living at tbe fcown <>i that name below the confluence ol the 

Cooea and Tallai "'.i iCreebaoi the town of Oakoboy, to be cearei tbe Frem h, 

who were theii friende, moved upon tbe main Tomblgby. and tbe d id townewhiob 

Roman mentions were tbose In wnlob tbey had formerly lived. 

i Roman I loi Idai 



CHAPTEB VI. 

The Chbeokees. 

i i has been sees that i>e Soto passed over a portion of the 
country of these Indians in the territory which embraces North- 
ern Georgia. The name Cherokee Is derived from Chera, fire; 
and the Prophets of this nation were called Cberatagbge, 
men of divine lire. 1640 

The iirst tliat we hear <>i* tin; Cherokees, after the 
Spanish invasion, is their connection with the early British set- 
tlers of Virginia. A powerful and extensive nation, they oven 
bad settlements upon the Appomattox river, and were allied by 
blood with the Powhattan tribe. The Virginians drove 
them from that place, and they retreated to the bead of 1628 
the Hoiston river. Here, making temporary settle- 
ments, the Northern Indians compelled them to retire to the 
Little Tennessee river, where they established themselves per- 
manently. About the same time, a large branch of the Chero- 
kees came from the territory of South Carolina, near Charleston, 
and formed towns upon the main Tennessee, extending as far as 
the Muscle Shoals. They found all that region unoccupied, ex- 
cept upon the Cumberland, where resided a roving band of 
Sbawnees. i>ut the whole country bore'evidence of once having 

sustained a Large Indian population. 

Such is the origin of the iirst Cherokee settlements upon the 
main Tennessee, hut the great body of the nation appears to 

have occupied Northern Georgia and North western Carolina as 

far back as the earliest discoveries can trace them. 

But very little was known of these natives until the English 

m 



140 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

formed colonies in the two Carolinas. They are first 
1693 mentioned when some of their Chiefs complained that 

the Savannas and Congerees attacked their extreme 
eastern settlements, captured their people and sold them as 
slaves in the town of Charleston. Two years afterwards, Gov- 
ernor Arch dale, of Carolina, arrested this practice, which 
1712 induced the Cherokees to become friends of the English. 

They joined the latter in a war against the Tuscaroras. 
But three years afterwards they became allies of the Northern 
Indians and once more fought their European friends. At length 

Governor Nichalson concluded a peace with them, which 
1730 was confirmed by Alexander Cummings, the British 

General Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The Chero- 
kees assisted the English in the capture of Fort Duquesne. 

When returning home, however, they committed some 

1758 depredations upon the settlers of Virginia, which were 

Nov. 24 resented. This, together with the influence of French 

emissaries, had the effect again to array them against 
the people of Georgia and the Carolinas. Various expeditions 
marched against them, and their country was finally invaded 

with success, by Colonel Grant. Having sued for peace, 

1761 articles of amity and alliance were signed at Long 

Nov. 19 Island, upon the Holston. According to the traditions 

preserved by Judge Haywood, who wrote the History of 
Tennessee, the Cherokees originally came from the territory now 
embraced by the Eastern States of the Union, in which "hey 
differ from the other tribes of whom it has been our province to 
speak, all of whom came from the west. 

When they began to be visited by the Carolina traders, their 
nation was powerful and warlike, and was divided into two 
parts. The Upper Cherokees lived upon the rivers Tellico, Great 
and Little Tennessee, the Holston and French Broad. The Lower 
Cherokees inhabited the country watered by the sources of the 
Oconee, the Ockmulgee and the Savannah. The great Unaka or 



THE CHEROKEES. 141 



Smoky mountain lay between and divided the two sections.* 
Their whole country was the most beautiful and romantic in the 
known world. Their springs of delicious water gushed 
out of every hill and mountain side. Their lovely rivers 1735 
meandered, now smoothly and gently, through the most 
fertile valleys, and then, with the precipitancy and fleetness of 
the winds, rushed over cataracts and through mountain gaps. 
The forests were full of game, the rivers abounded with fish, the 
vales teemed with their various productions, and the mountains 
with fruit, while the pure atmosphere consummated the 
happiness of the blest Cherokees. 1700 

About the period of 1700, the Cherokee nation con- 
sisted of sixty-four towns. But the inhabitants of those situated 
in the upper district, were continually engaged in wars with the 
Northern Indians, while those below were harassed 
by the Creeks. Then again, the Cherokees had to en- 1738 
counter, first, the French, and then the English. From 
these causes, (added to which was the terrible scourge of the 
small pox, introduced into Charleston by a slave ship, 
and thence carried into their country,) the population 1740 
had greatly decreased — so that, in 1740, the number of 
warriors were estimated at only five thousand. That year fully 
one thousand of these were destroyed by that disease.! 

The Cherekees were so similar to the Creeks in their form, 
color, general habits and pursuits, that the reader is requested to 
refresh his recollection in relation to our description of the latter, 
and will not be required, tediously, to retrace the same ground. 
Their ball plays, green corn dances, constant habit of indulging 
in the purifying black drink, their manner of conducting wars and 
of punishing prisoners, their council-houses, their com- 
mon apparel, and also their appearance during war, 1735 
were all precisely like those of the Creeks. And, in 

* Haywood's Aboriginal History of Tennessee, pp. 233-234. Transactions of the 
American Antiquarian Society, vol/2, pp. 89-90. Adair's American Indians, 
t Historical Collections of Georgia, vol. 2, p. 72. 



142 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



addition, they played Chunke, like the Choctaws. However, a 
careful examination of several authorities, has unfolded a few pe- 
culiarities, which will now be introduced. 

Unlike other Indian nations, who once trod our soil, the 
Cherokees had no laws against adultery. Both sexes were unre- 
strained in this particular, and marriage was usually of short 
duration. 

On account of the pure air which they breathed, the exercise 
of the chase, the abundance of natural productions which the coun- 
try afforded, and the delicious water which was always near, the 
Cherokees lived to an age much more advanced than the other 
tribes which have been noticed in this chapter.* 

They observed some singular rules in relation to the burial 
of the dead. When a person was past recovery, (to prevent pol- 
lution,) they dug a grave, prepared a tomb, anointed the hair of 
the patient and painted his face ; and when death ensued, inter- 
ment was immediately performed. After the third day, the at- 
tendants at the funeral appeared at the council-house and en- 
gaged in their ordinary pursuits, but the relatives lived in retire- 
ment and moaned for some time.t Such ceremonies, practiced 
upon the poor fellow in his last moments, and while in his senses, 
was certainly a cooler and more cruel method than that of the 
Choctaws, who, as we have seen, suddenly jumped down upon 
the patient and strangled him to death, after the doctor had pro- 
nounced his recovery impossible. 

It was formerly the habit of the Cherokees to shoot all the 
stock belonging to the deceased, and they continued to bury, with 
the dead, their guns, bows and household utensils. If one died 
upon a journey, hunt, or war expedition, his companions erected 
a stage, upon which was a notched log pen, in which the body 
was placed to secure it from wild beasts. When it was supposed 
that sufficient time had elapsed, so that nothing remained but the 
bones, they returned to the spot, collected these, carried them 

* Adair, pp. 226-228; t Adair, p. 126. 



THE CHEROKEES. 143 



home and buried them with great ceremony. Sometimes heaps 
of stones were raised as monuments to the dead, whose bones 
they had not been able to " gather to their fathers," and every 
one who passed by added a stone to the pile * 

Henry Timberlake. a lieutenant in the British service, was 
despatched with a small command from Long Island, 
upon the Holston, to the Cherokee towns upon the Tel- 1761 
lico and the Little Tennessee rivers. His object was to Nov. 28 
cultivate a good understanding with these people, who 
had, indeed, invited him to their country. He descended the 
Holston in canoes to the mouth of the Little Tennessee, and 
thence passed up that stream to their towns. Spending some 
weeks here, he returned to Charleston with three Cher- 
okee Chiefs, and sailed for England. Three years after- 1762 
wards he published a book, from which we have been 
enabled to gain some information respecting the Cherokees.t 

The Cherokees were of middle stature, and of an olive color, 
but were generally painted, while their skins were stained with 
indelible ink, representing a variety of pretty figures. Accord- 
ing to Bartram, the males were larger and more robust than any 
others of our natives, while the women were tall, slen- 
der, erect, and of delicate frame, with features of perfect 1776 
symmetry. With cheerful countenances, they moved 
about with becoming grace and dignity. Their feet and hands 
were small and exquisitely shaped. The hair of the male was 
shaved, except a patch on the back part of the head, which was 
ornamented with beads and feathers, or with a colored deer's tail. 
Their ears were slit and stretched to an enormous size, causing 
the persons who had the cutting performed to undergo incredible 
pain. They slit but one ear at a time, because the patient had 
to lay on one side forty days for it to heal. As soon as he could 
bear the operation, wire was wound around them to expand them, 

* Adair— Bartram 

t Memoirs of Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, London : 1765. 



144 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

and when they were entirely well they were adorned with silver 
pendants and rings. 

Many of them had genius, and spoke well, which paved the 
way to power in council. Their language was pleasant. 
It was very aspirited, and the accents so many and va- 1761 
rious that one would often imagine them singing in their 
common discourse. 

They had a particular method of relieving the poor, which 
ought to be ranked among the most laudable of their religious 
ceremonies. The head men issued orders for a war dance, at 
which all the fighting men of the town assembled. But here, 
contrary to all their other dances, only one danced at a time, who, 
with a tomahawk in his hand, hopped and capered for a minute, 
and then gave a whoop. The music then stopped till he related 
the manner of his taking his first scalp. He concluded his nar- 
ration, and cast a string of wampum, wire, plate, paint, lead, or 
anything he could spare upon a large bear skin spread for the 
purpose. Then the music again began, and he continued in the 
same manner through all his warlike actions. Then another 
succeeded him, and the ceremony lasted until all the warriors 
had related their exploits and thrown presents upon the skin. 
The stock thus raised, after paying the musicians, was divided 
among the poor. The same ceremony was used to recompense 
any extraordinary merit. 

The Cherokees engaged oftener in dancing than any other 
Indian population ; and when reposing in their towns, almost 
every night was spent in this agreeable amusement. They were 
likewise very dexterous at pantomimes. In one of these, two 
men dressed themselves in bear-skins, and came among the 
assembly, winding and pawing about with all the motions of that 
animal. Two hunters next entered, who, in dumb show, acted 
in all respects as if they had been in the woods. After many at- 
tempts to shoot the bears, the hunters fired, and one of them was 
killed and the other wounded. They attempted to cut the throat 



THE CHEROKEES. 145 



of the latter. A tremendous scuffle ensued between the wounded 

bruin and the hunters, affording the whole company 

a great deal of diversion. They also had other amus- 1761 

ing pantomimic entertainments, among which was 

" taking the pigeons at roost." 

They were extremely proud, despising the lower class of 
Europeans. Yet they were gentle and amiable to those whom 
they thought their friends. Implacable in their enmity, their 
revenge was only completed in the entire destruction of the 
enemy. They were hardy, and endured heat, cold and hunger in 
a surprising manner. But when in their power to indulge, no 
people on earth, except the Choctaws, carried debauchery to 
greater excess.* 

William Bartram, who penetrated the Cherokee nation, men- 
tions the following towns. We use his orthography : 

OX THE LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER, EAST OF THE SMOKY 

MOUNTAINS. 

Echoe ; Nucasse; Whataga ; Cowe. 1776 

ON THE BRANCHES OF THAT RIVER. Spring SeaSOll 

Ticaloosa ; Jore; Conisca ; Xowe. 

ON THE LITTLE TENNESSEE, NORTH OF THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. 

Tomothle; Xoewe ; Tellico; Clennuse; Ocunnolufte; Chewe ; 
Quanuse ; Tellowe. 

INLAND TOWNS ON THE BRANCHES OF THAT RIVER, AND OTHERS 
NORTH OF THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. 

Tellico ; Chatuga ; Hiwassee ; Chewase ; Nuanha. 

OVERHILL TOWNS ON THE TENNESSEE OR CHEROKEE RIVERS. 

Tallasse; Chelowe ; Sette ; Chote-great ; loco; Tahasse ; 
Tamohle ; Tuskege; Big Island ; Nilaque; Niowe. 

LOWER TOWNS, EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

Sinica; Keowe; Kulsage ; Tngilo; Estotowe; Qualatche ; 
Chote ; Estotowe, great ; Aliagae; lore; Nacooche.t 

* Timberlake's Memoirs, pp. 49-80; Bartram, pp. 368-369. t Bartram, 371-372. 

10 



146 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Gov. Blount, of the Tennessee Territory, made a report to 
the Indian Department of the Federal Government, in 
1792 which he described the other towns of the Cherokee 
Mar. 5 nation. It appears that a portion of the Cherokees 
established themselves upon Chicamauga Creek, one 
hundred miles below the mouth of the Holston, being averse to 
any terms of friendship with the English. But believing these 
new settlements to be infested with witches, they aban- 
1782 doned them, moved forty miles lower down the Tennes- 
see, and there laid out the foundation of the "five towns" 
which they inhabited for many years afterwards, and until their 
final removal to Arkansas. These towns were : 

Running Water — on the south bank of the main Tennessee, 
three miles above Nickajack, containing one hundred huts, the 
inhabitants of which were a mixed population of Cherokees and 
Shawnees. 

Nickajack — on the south bank of the Tennessee, containing 
forty houses. 

Long Island Town — on the south side of the Tennessee, on 
an island of that name, containing several houses. 

Crow Town — on the north side of the Tennessee, half a mile 
from the river, up Crow creek. This was the largest of the 
towns. 

Lookout Mountain Town — between two mountains, on 
Lookout Mountain creek, fifteen miles from its confluence with 
the Tennessee. 

The first four of these towns were considerable Indian 

thoroughfares for a long period, being the crossing places of the 

Southern and Northern Indians during their wars with 

1792 the Cumberland American settlements. Of these five 

towns, the sites of Nickajack and Long Island only are 

in Alabama, situated in the northeast part of De Kalb county. 

But still lower down, in the present State of Alabama, were 

Will's Town and Turkey Town — important Cherokee establish- 



THE CHEROKEES. 147 



merits. The former was named for a half breed called Red- 
headed Will. At these towns lived the British Superintendent, 
(the celebrated Col. Campbell,) before and during the Revolu- 
tionary War.* 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 264-289. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Ancient Mounds and Fortifications in Alabama. 

In the Southern and Northwestern States mounds of various 
dimensions and descriptions are yet to be seen, and continue to 
elicit no little speculation in regard to the race of people who 
formed them, and the objects which they had in view. 

Mounds are most commonly heaps of earth, but in some in- 
stances they are made of fragments of rock. In Florida, Geor- 
gia, Alabama and Mississippi, they are of two classes. 
1540 We will first treat of the large mounds, some of which 
are round, some elliptical, and others square. Many of 
them are flat on top, while others present conical forms. They 
ascend to the height of from forty to ninety feet, and some are 
eighteen hundred feet in circumference at the base. Especial con- 
trivances appear to have been resorted to, to ascend these singular 
and imposing elevations, by means of steps cut in the sides, in- 
clining at an easy angle, and reaching from the ground be- 
low to their tops.* During the invasion of De Soto, they 
were used as elevated platforms, sustaining the houses of the 
Chief, his family and attendants, while the common people lived 
around the base. The writers upon that expedition describe the 
manner in which the natives brought the earth to the spot and 
formed these elevations. Garcellasso de la Vega states that the 
erection of a mound was the first object in building a new town, 
which was generally located upon some low alluvial ground. 
When completed, the Chief's houses, from ten to twenty in num- 
ber, were placed upon its top, and a public square laid out at the 

* See Chapter 2, pp. 65-66. 

148 



ANCIENT MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS IN ALABAMA. 149 

base, around which were the houses of the prominent Indians, 
while the humbler wigwams of the common people stood around 
the other side of the mound. 

Such, then, three hundred and ten years ago, was found to 
be the use of these mounds. By the writers of De Soto, 
they are repeatedly mentioned as being almost daily 1540 
seen in all the territory through which that remarkable 
adventurer passed. Yet, many very learned and wise antiquaries 
have contended, in various works which they have published, 
that these mounds must have been constructed at a very ancient 
period, by a race far advanced in civilization — that the aborig- 
ines who were first discovered by Europeans were incapable of 
erecting such works on account of their ignorance of the arts and 
their want of sufficient population. Our readers have seen what 
a numerous population De Soto and other discoverers 
found here, and that they possessed much ingenuity in 1564 
the building of boats, fortifications, temples, houses, etc. 
Of all people upon earth the American Indians had most time to 
engage in such works, for they were never accustomed to regard 
their time of the least importance. Indeed, the American citizen 
of the present day, who has lived upon the Indian frontiers, 
knows that they often assembled together in great numbers and 
performed public works of all kinds. But much later 
authority than that offered by the writers of De Soto 1730 
will be presented. It will be recollected that when the 
French drove the Natchez tribe from the spot now occupied by 
the city of that name, that the latter established them- 
selves upon the Lower Washita, where they "erected 1731 
mounds and embankments for defence, which covered 1732 
an area of four hundred acres." These mounds are still 
to be seen there, and some of them are verv large. These In- 
dians were driven from Natchez in 1730. Two years afterwards 
the French defeated them upon the Washita, where they were 
protected by their embankments and mounds, which they had only 



150 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

been a little over two years in constructing. Let it be borne in 
mind that this was about one hundred and ninety-one years after 
the invasion of De Soto; and the facts are attested by nume- 
rous Frenchmen and other authors, some of whom were eye- 
witnesses.* 

Charlevoix and Tonti both mention that they found Indians 
a little south of Lake Michigan, who well understood the con- 
struction of mounds and fortifications. Even during the ad- 
ministration of Jefferson, Lewis and Clarke, who had been de- 
spatched upon an overland route to Oregon, discovered the Sioux 
and other Western Indians erecting earthen embankments around 
their camps and towns. Were it deemed necessary, other author- 
ities could be adduced to overthrow the speculations of those an- 
tiquarians who endeavor to inculcate the belief that our country 
was once inhabited by an almost civilized race. We heartily con- 
cur in the opinion expressed by McCulloh, in his " Researches," 
that the " mounds were sites for the dwellings of the Chiefs, for 
council halls and for temples, which fancy and conceit have con- 
structed into various shapes and variously situated, one to the 
other." This author has reference, of course, to the larger 
mounds.f 

Bartram found, in East Florida, many peculiar mounds. He 
saw groups of square mounds surrounded walls of earth, and 
pyramidal mounds of great height. "From the river St. 
1776 John, southwardly to the point of the peninsula of Flor- 
ida, are to be seen high pyramidal mounds, with spa- 
cious and extensive avenues leading from them out of the town 
to an artificial lake or pond of water." In another place he 
says: "At about fifty yards distance from the landing place 
stands a magnificent Indian mount. But what greatly contrib- 
uted to the beauty of the scene, was a noble Indian highway, 
which led from the great mount, in a straight line three-quarters 

* See Chapter 2, Part 3, pp. 132-133. 
t Researches, Philosophical and Antiquarian, concerning the aboriginal history of 
America, by J. H. McCulloh, Jr., M.D. Baltimore, 18'2i>; pp. 516. 



ANCIENT MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS IN ALABAMA. 151 

of a mile, through a forest of live-oaks, to the verge of an oblong 
artificial lake, which was on the edge of an extensive level savan- 
nah. This grand highway was about fifty yards wide, sunk a 
little below the common level, and the earth thrown on each side, 
making a bank of about two feet high." 

On the east side of the Ockmulgee, and a little below the city 
of Macon, in Georgia, are some large and interesting mounds. In 
the town of Florence, Lauderdale county, Alabama, is a very 
large and peculiar mound. Near Carthage, in the same State, 
there are many mounds of various sizes, some of which are large. 

Dr. Charles A. Woodruff — a native of Savannah, but now a 
resident of Alabama — a man of letters and research, who has 
travelled over Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas 
and Alabama, engaged in geological researches — has called our 
attention to a very remarkable group of mounds on the lands of 
Judge Messier, twenty-one miles in a southeastern direction from 
Fort Gaines. A reference to the sketch which he has furnished 
us, and his description of it, which follows, wili make the reader 
acquainted with these remarkable artificial elevations. (See 
page 165). 

"No. 1. The large sacrificial mound, seventy feet in height 
and six hundred feet in circumference. This mound is covered 
with large forest trees, from four to five hundred years 
old. A shaft has been sunk in the center to the depth 1847 
of sixty feet, and at its lower portion a bed of human 
bones, five feet in thickness, and in a perfectly decomposed state, 
was passed. 

" No. 2, 2. Like the former, have hearthstones on the sum- 
mit, with charred wood around them, which would show that 
they, too, were used for sacrifices. They are thirty feet high. 

" No. 3. A wall of earth enclosing thesemounds. 

"No. 4, 4, 4, 4. Mounds outside of the enclosure, twenty 
feet high, and probably used as watch towers. 

" No. 5. Entrance to the enclosure. 



152 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

" In the rear of these mounds is a creek, No. 6, and from the 

large mound there has been constructed an arched pas- 

1847 sage, three hundred yards in length, leading to the creek, 

and probably intended to procure water for religious 

purposes." 

The smaller mounds, to be found in almost every field upon 
the rivers Tennessee, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Alabama, Cahaba, War- 
rior and Toinbigbee, will next be considered. 

Many of these elevations are cultivated in cotton and corn, 
the plough ascending and descending from year to year, with 
more ease as they gradually wear away. They are usually from 
five to ten feet high, from fifteen to sixty feet in circumference at 
the base, and of conical forms, resembling haystacks. Where 
they have been excavated they have, invariably, been found to 
contain human bones, various stone ornaments, weapons, pieces 
of pottery, and sometimes ornaments of copper and silver, but of 
a rude manufacture, clearly indicating Indian origin. Layers of 
ashes and charcoal are also found in these mounds. 

It will be recollected that the Spaniards, during the invasion 
of De Soto, discovered temples in all the chief towns, in 

1539 which the dead were deposited in baskets and wooden 

1540 boxes. At a late day this custom was found to exist 

1541 only among the Ohoctaws, Natchez, and a few other 
tribes. The Mascogees and Alabamas, who came into 

the country after it had been overrun by De Soto, had, as we have 
seen, simple modes of burial, and hence knew nothing about the 
construction of these mounds. The bone-houses of the Choctaws 
were miniature temples of the Indians of 1540. We 
1735 have seen in what manner the Choctaws placed their 
1777 dead upon scaffolds, and afterwards picked off all the 
1759 flesh and fragments from the bones, and deposited the 
1782 latter in bone-houses. It is positively asserted by Bar- 
tram that every few years, when these houses became 
full of bones, the latter were carried out upon a plain, buried in a 



ANCIENT MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS IN ALABAMA. 153 

common grave, and a mound raised over them.* According to 
Charlevoix, another conscientious author, the Six Nations and the 
Wyandots every eight or ten years disinterred their dead, who 
had been deposited where they had died, and carried all the bones 
to a certain place, where they dug a pit, thirty feet in diameter 
and ten in depth, which was paved at the bottom with stones. 
In this the various skeletons, with the property which the de- 
ceased possessed, were thrown. Over the heap a mound was 
raised, by throwing in the earth they had dug out, together 
with rubbish of every kind. Much later authority will be ad- 
duced. Lewis and Clarke, whom, as we have said, Jefferson 
sent to explore Oregon, saw a mound twelve feet in diameter 
at the base, and six feet high, which had just been erected over 
the body of a Maha Chief. It appears to have always been the 
custom to erect a mound over a Chief or person of distinction, 
and no other bodies were interred with him. Indeed, no prac- 
tice has been more universal than that of erecting a mound or 
tumulus over the dead, not only in America, but over the world. 
Adair asserts that it was the practice of the Cherokees to collect 
the skeletons of those who had died far from home, and erect 
over them stone mounds, and every person who passed by was 
required to add a stone to the heap.t This, then, accounts for 
heaps of stone to be found in the norchern part of Georgia and 
Northeastern Alabama, resembling mounds in form. In North 
Alabama and Tennessee, skeletons have been found in caves. In 
mountainous countries this may have been one of the modes of 
disposing of the dead, or, which is more probable, persons died 
there suddenly, and their bones were not afterwards 
gathered together, buried in a common grave, and a 1735 
mound erected over them, as was the general custom of 
ancient times. 

The small mounds in Alabama, which have been excavated, 

* Bartram's Travels, p. 516. See also Bossu's Travels, vol. 1, p. 299. 
t " Adair's American Indians." 



154 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

contained different strata. Beginning to dig at the top, the op- 
erators first pass through a stratum of earth about two feet thick, 
then they come to a bed of ashes and charcoal, and then a bed of 
human bones mixed with pieces of pottery, pipes, arrow-heads 
and various Indian ornaments. Muscle shells are often mixed 
with these. Continuing to dig downwards, the excavators pass 
through a stratum of earth, which is succeeded by strata of bones, 
charcoal, pottery, Indian ornaments and arrow-points. 
1735 Now, from all that we have read and heard of the Choc- 
1777 taws, we are satisfied that it was their custom to take 
1759 from the bone-houses the skeletons, with which they 
178*2 repaired in funeral procession to the suburbs of the 
town, where they placed them on the ground in one 
heap, together with the property of the dead, such as pots, bows, 
arrows, ornaments, curious shaped stones for dressing deer-skins, 
and a variety of other things. Over this heap they first threw 
charcoal and ashes, probably to preserve the bones, and the next 
operation was to cover all with earth. This left a mound several 
feet high. In the course of eight or ten years, when the bone- 
house again became full of skeletons, the latter were carried in the 
same manner to the mound, placed upon top of it, and covered 
with ashes and earth. When the mound became high enough to 
excite a kind of veneration for it, by depositing upon it heaps of 
bones, from time to time, another was made not far from it, and 
then another, as time rolled on. This accounts for the different 
strata of bones to be found in the same mound, and for the erec- 
tion of several mounds, often found near each other. 

As for the ancient ditches at Cahaba, and in other portions 
of Alabama, in which are now growing the largest trees 
1775 of the forest, indicating the works to have been of very 
1735 remote date, we have been unable, in our investiga- 
1759 tions, to ascribe them to European origin, as they 
J 782 are generally supposed to be. De Soto erected no 
forts, in passing through this country, and had no 



ANCIENT MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS IN ALABAMA. 155 

occasion to do so, for his army was competent to subdue 
the natives without such means of defense. It is true he 
cut some temporary ditches upon the Warrior, near Erie, to 
repel the savages, who were charging him constantly from the 
other side of the river. These were soon abandoned, and his 
journalists mention no other works of the kind which he made.* 
The French and Spaniards, who afterwards occupied Alabama, 
erected no forts, except those at Mobile, upon the Tensaw River, 
at St. Stephens, at Jones' Bluff upon the Tombigby, and four miles 
above the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, upon the east 
bank of the former. 

The English, at an early period, constructed a fort at Ocfus- 
kee upon the Tallapoosa. If any other forts or entrenchments 
were made by the Europeans who first established themselves 
upon our soil, we have not been so fortunate as to trace them. 
The conclusion, then, seems to us to be apparent, that these an- 
cient entrenchments or fortifications were the works of 
the aborigines of the country. It will be recollected 1540 
that De Soto, and the French authors who succeeded 1700 
him, nearly two centuries afterwards, discovered towns 179*2 
which were well fortified with immense breastworks of 
timber, around which were cut large ditches. It was easy, 
within a short space of time, for a few hundred Indians to have 
cut an immense ditch, or to have thrown up a great mound. The 
same tools employed in the erection of the latter, certainly the 
work of the ancient Indians, could well have been used in the 
cutting of these old entrenchments or ditches. Hence, we con- 
tend, that at the town of Cahaba there once existed a large In- 
dian establishment, which was fortified with palisades, and that 
the ditch, which has produced so much modern speculation 
among the good people of that place, was cut around these pali- 

* " Had Hernando De Soto erected one-tenth of the works which have been 
ascribed to him, in the States bordering on the Gulf , in Tennessee, and even in Ken- 
tucky, he must have found ample demands on his time and exertions." — "Ancient 
Monuments of the .Mississippi Valley," by E. G. Squier, A. M., p. 112. 



156 • HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



sades, or rather around the town, having the Alabama river open 
on one side. There is a ditch near the Talladega Springs, which 
formerly had trees growing in it, and which surrounds an eleva- 
tion, embracing a few acres and taking in a beautiful spring, 
which gushes out of the rocks at the side of a hill* No doubt, 
this, and all other works like it, now frequently seen over the 
territories of Alabama and Mississippi, are the works of our an- 
cient Indians, for they invariably erected their defences at those 
places which admitted of the encompassment of running water; 
while, on the other hand, the Europeans who came to this coun- 
try at an early period, always dug wells within the fortifications 
which they made. 

In the month of October, 1850, we visited a remarkable 
place at the Falls of Little River, situated in the northeastern 
corner of Cherokee county, Alabama, and very near the line of 
DeKalb county, in the same State. (See page 364.) What 
1850 is rather singular Little River has its source on the top of 
Oct. Lookout Mountain, and runs for many miles on the most 
elevated parts of it. In the winter and spring it is 
a stream of considerable size, affording a rapid and dan- 
gerous current of water; but when it was seen upon the 
present occasion, a very protracted drought had nearly dried it 
up. The river flows along the top of the mountain with very in- 
considerable banks, until it reaches a precipice of solid rock, in 
the form of a half circle, over which it falls seventy feet perpen- 
dicularly, into a basin. After being received in this rock basin, 
the river flows off without much interruption, and, in winding 
about, forms a peninsula about two or three hundred yards be- 
low the falls. The banks of the river bordering on this peninsula 
are the same unbroken rock walls which form the falls, 
1850 and are equally high and bold. Across the neck of the 
Oct. peninsula are yet to be traced two ancient ditches, nearly 
parallel with each other, and about thirty feet apart in 

* Formerly the property of Henry G. Woodward. 



ANCIENT MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS IN ALABAMA. 157 

the middle of the curve which they form, though they commence 
within ten feet of each other upon the upper precipice, and when 
they have reached the lower precipice are found to run into each 
other. These ditches have been almost rilled up by the effects 
of time. On their inner sides are rocks piled up and mixed with 
the dirt which was thrown up in making these entrenchments, 
indicating them to be of the simplest and rudest Indian origin. 
The author has seen many such entrenchments in his travels 
over Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and hesitates not to say 
that they are the works of the aborigines of the country. 

On one side of the bend of the peninsula, and about ten feet 
below the top of the rock precipice, are four or five small caves, 
large enough, if square, to form rooms twelve by fourteen feet. 
They are separated from each other by strata of rock, two of 
which resemble pillars, roughly hewn out. Three of 
of them communicate with each other by means of holes 1850 
which can be crawled through. These caves open irn- Oct. 
mediately upon the precipice, and from their floors it is 
at least seventy feet down to the surface of the river. Many per- 
sons who have visited this singular place, call these "De Soto's 
Rock Houses," and they have stretched their imagination to such 
an extent as to assert that they have distinctly traced his pick- 
axes in the face of the rocks. There can be no question, how- 
ever, but that these caves have been improved, to a slight ex- 
tent, in size and shape, by human labor. But it was the labor of 
the Red people. Occasionally we could see where they smoothed 
off a point, and leveled the floors by knocking off the uneven 
places. It was, doubtless, a strong Indian fortification, and long 
used as a safe retreat when the valleys below were overrun by a 
victorious enemy. The walls are black with smoke, and every- 
thing about them bears evidence of constant occupation for 
years. These caves or rock houses constituted a most admirable 
defence, especially with the assistance of the walls at the 
head of the peninsula. In order to get into the first cave, 



lf>H HISTORY OF AI.AUAMA 



;i person has to pass along a rook passage wide enough 
for only one man, Below him, <>n iiis right, Is the awful 
preoipioe, and on hie left, the rook wall reaching ben feel 
above his bead. A few persons In the first rook bouse with 
>rds or spears, oould keep off an army of one thousand men ; 
inr, only one assailant, being able to approaoh the cave at ;i time, 
oould be Instantly despatohed and burled down the abyss be 
low. in regard to the Inner walls of the ditches, the author saw 
in. oement among the rooks, although he bad beard that thai In 
gredlent (never used i>y [ndians) w;is to be found there. 

[Jpon creeks and rivers In Alabama, where they meander 
through mountainous regions, are oooasionally seen cuttings 
upon rooks, which have also been Improperly attributed to Euro 
pean discoverers, in the oounty of Tallapoosa, not far below 
the mouth of the Sougohatohie, and a few miles east from the 
Tallapoosa river, are cliffs of ;i singular kind of gray 
1847 rook, rather soft, and having the appearance o! contain 

April iiim; silver ore. The face Of lliese dill's is literally <tnt 111 
pieees, l»y having round pieces laken out of them. The 

Indent [ndians used to resort to this place to obtain materials 
lor manufacturing pipes, of large and small sizes, and, more par 
tioularly, for bowls and other household vessels. They out out 
the pieces with flint rooks fixed In wooden handles. After work 
Ing around as deep as they desired, the piece was prized out of 
the lock. Then they formed It Into whatever vessel, i«>y or Ira 
plement they pleased. Henoe, bowls, small mortars, immense 
pipes, and various pieces resembling wedges* In shape, are often 
ploughed up in the fields In Macon, Tallapoosa and Montgomery, 
and other oounties In Alabama, of precisely the same kind of 
rook of which bhei e cliffs are composed. The author Is ;>iso sus- 
tained In this position by unquestionable Indian teeth y, whiob 

has been seoured by bim. 



■ rheie wedge , in appearanoe, were uied bj the IndhuiH In dn^Mln^ Umlr ileei kin 
Thej were a I id a> olubi in war, having handlei fixed to them. 



ANCIKNT MuiMis A\l» KOHTIFK VTIONH IN ALABAMA 



L69 



A t'nw iniirs from Ely ton, in the county of Jefferson, the 
mil bor is informed that there stands ;> Large quadrangular mound, 
about I it'iy feet high, and flat on the top ; that, near its base, are 
1,0 be seen outtings in the rook something Like mortars, some ol 
which would hold over a gallon. These were done by the in 
dians, for the Limestone n><;k oould easily be worked Into any 
shape i>y means of flint picks. 

The reader has observed that we have often mentioned the 
published works of Bartram, the botanist, who was Ln our ooun 
try jusl before the Revolutionary War. We now Quote from hi 
.Ms., never publl bed entire, but occasionally introduced 
by Bquier in bis "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi 1777 
Valley." Squier embodies in his work the following 
account, from Bartram's MS., of the "Chunk STards" of the 
(Hcks or Muscogees : "They are rectangular areas, generally 
ocoupying the centre of the town. The public square and rotunda, 
or great winter council bouse, stood at the two opposite corners 
of them. They are generally very exten ive e peoially in the 
Large old towns, some of them are from six hundred to nine 
hundred feet Ln Length, and of proportionate breadth, The ares 1 
exactly Level, and sunk two, and sometimes three, feet below the 
I*. inks 0! terrace surrounding it, which ars occasionally two in 
number, one behind and above tbe*otber, and composed of the 
earth taken from the area at the time of its formation. The 8 
banks or terraces serve the purposes of seats for spectators, In 
the centre of this yard «>r ares there 1 a i«»w circular mound or 
eminence, in the middle of which stand 1 the Ckv/nk Pole, which 
is a high obelisk, or four-square pillar, declining upward to an 
obtuse point. This Ls of wood, the heart of a sound pitch pine, 
which is very durable. It Is generally from thirty to forty feet 
In height, and to the topis fastened some object which serves 
as a mark to shoot at with arrows, or the rifle, at certain ap- 
pointed times." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The French in Alabama \ni> Mississippi. 

Afteb fche Spanish invasion of l>c Soto, to which allusion 
has sooften been made, our soil remained untrodden by European 

feet for nearly a century and a, half. At the end of that long and 

dark period it became connected with (lie history of tin; distant 
French possessions of Canada,, which were contemporaneous with 

the oldest English colonies iii America. For more than fifty 

years the Frenoh I'm- traders of Canada, associated with the en- 
terprising Jesuit Fathers, had continued to advance southwest- 
Ward upon the great lakes, discovering new regions, different 
races of Indians, more abundant game, and wider and brighter 
waters. At length, from the tribes upon the southern shore of 
Lake Superior, Father Allouez heard souk; vague reports of a 
great western river. Subsequently, Father Marquette was des- 
patched from Quebec with Joliet, a trader of that plaoe, five other 
Frenchmen, and a, large number of Indian guides, to seek the 
Mississippi, and thus add new regions to the dominion of France, 
and new missions to the empire of the .Jesuits. Ascending 
Fox nvcr to the head of navigation, and crossing the portage 

to the hanks of the Wisconsin, witli hirch hark canoes, the 
adventurers again launched their tiny boats and floated down to 
the .Mississippi river. Descending it to the mouth of the Ar- 
kansas, and encountering decided evidences of a southern 
1678 climate, Marquette finally found himself among the 

June 17 (Miickasaws, whose reports that, hostile tribes thronged 

the hanks from thence to the sea, served to arrest, his 

progress. Reluctantly commencing his return up the still' and 

Leo 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 161 

turbid tide, he found the mouth of the Illinois river, ascended to 
its head, crossed the portage to Chicago, launched his canoes upon 
Lake Michigan, and paddled to Green Bay, where he resumed 
his missionary labors. Joliet proceeded to Quebec with the 
news of the discovery. 

The young and gifted La Salle, a native of Rome, in France, 
educated as a Jesuit, went to Canada to acquire fortune and fame 
by finding an overland passage to China. Becoming fired at the 
discovery which Marquette had made, he returned to France and 
obtained a royal commission for perfecting the exploration of the 
Mississippi, for which he was granted a monopoly in the trade of 
the skins of the buffalo. Sailing back to Canada, with 
men and stores, and accompanied by the Chevalier Tonti, 1G78 
an Italian soldier, who acted as his lieutenant, La Salle 
proceeded, by way of the lakes, upon his important enterprise. 
Consuming over two years in exploring those vast sheets of 
water, in building forts and collecting furs, he at length rigged 
a small barge, in which he descended the Mississippi to its mouth. 
Here, upon a small marshy elevation, in full view of the sea, 
he took formal and ceremonious possession in the name of 
the King of France. The country received the name of Lou- 
isiana, in honor of Louis XIV., who then occupied the French 
throne; but the attempt to give the river the name of Colbert, in 
honor of his Minister of Finance, did not succeed, and it 
retained that by which the aborigines had designated it. 1682 
Leaving the Chevalier Tonti in command of Fort St. Apr. 9 
Louis, which La Salle had established in the country 
of Illinois, the latter returned to France, where the report of his 
discoveries had already given rise to much excitement and joy. 
The government immediately furnished him with a frigate and 
three other ships, upon which embarked two hundred and eighty 
persons, consisting of priests, gentlemen, soldiers, hired me- 
chanics and agricultural emigrants, for the purpose of forming a 
colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. But the fearless adven- 

— 11 



IC)'2 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



turer, having crossed the Atlantic, and being unable to find, 
from the Gulf, the entrance to that river, was forced to 
1687 disembark upon the coast of Texas. Here, erecting Fort 
Feb. St. Louis, and leaving the larger portion of the colonists, 
he explored the surrounding country, with the hope of 
finding the Mississippi, but returned unsuccessful. Death had 
hovered over the colony, which was now reduced to thirty-six per- 
sons ; and with sixteen of these, La Salle again departed, with the 
determination to cut his way to Canada by land. After three 
months' wanderings, he was muriered by two of his 
1687 companions, in the prairies of Texas, near the western 
Mar. 19 branch of the Trinity river. In the meantime the Chev- 
alier Tonti, with twenty Canadians and thirty Indians, 
descended from the Illinois to meet his old commander; but, dis- 
appointed in not finding the French fleet at the Balize, he returned 
to the mouth of the Arkansas, where he established a little post. 
The few colonists left upon the coast of Texas all perished ob- 
scurely, except the brother of La Salle and six others, who made 
their way to Canada. Such was the melancholy termination ot 
the first attempt to colonize Louisiana.* 

Louis XIV. of France, the most splendid sovereign whom 
Europe had yet seen, had long been engaged in a war with Wil- 
liam III. of England, which had extended to their respective colo- 
nies in North America. In consequence of these troubles, further 
efforts to colonize the Mississippi were not attempted until after 
the peace of Ryswick. By the terms of the treaty each party 
was to enjoy the territories in America which they possessed be- 
fore the war. The attention of the French monarch was now once 
more turned to the new country which La Salle had discovered. 
A number of Canadians had been left upon the shores of France 

* Hildreth's History of the United States New York : 1849; vol. 2, pp. 81-99. Historie 
de la Louisiana, par Charles Uayarre; vol. 1, pp. 23-61. Journal Historique du Dernier 
Voyage que feu v| . de la Sale, lit dans le O dfe de Mexique, pour trouver I'embouchure, 
et le cours de la Riviere de St. Louis, qui traverse la Louisiana A Paris : 1713— 386 paues. 
The History of Louisiana from the earliest period, by Francois Xavier Martin, vol. 1. pp. 
59-121. New Orleans: 1827. Also many other authorities. 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 163 

upon the conclusion of the war, and among them was a distin- 
guished naval officer named Iberville, who had acquired great 
military renown by his exploits against the English on the shores 
of Hudson Bay and Newfoundland, and by the capture of Pema- 
quid. He was one of seven sons, all natives of Quebec, all men 
of ability and merit, and all engaged in the king's service. 

To Iberville was confided the project of peopling- Louisiana. 
He sailed from Rochelle with the Badine, of thirty guns, 
of which he had the immediate command, and with the 1698 
Marir, commanded by Count Sugeres, together with two Sept. 24 
harbor boats, each of forty tons. On board these vessels 
were his two young but gallant brothers, Bienville and Sauvolle, 
and two hundred colonists, mostly Canadians, who had gone to 
France to assist in her defence. Among them were some women 
and children. Arriving at Cape Fiancoise, in the Island of St. 
Domingo, he was joined by the Marquis Chateau Morant, with a 
fifty-two gun ship. There he received on board a famous bucca- 
neer named De Grace, who had pillaged Vera Cruz some 
years before. Leaving St. Domingo, Iberville sailed for 1699 
the coast of Florida, and after a prosperous voyage Jan. '20 
stood before the Island of St. Rosa, from which point he 
discovered two men-of-war at anchor in the harbor of Pensacola, 
at whose mast-heads floated the colors of Spain. One month 
previous to this Don Roalli, with three hundred Spaniards, from 
Vera Cruz, had established a battery upon the site of the present 
town of Pensacola. 

A deputation sent by Iberville were received with much 
politeness, but the Don declined to permit the French vessels 
to enter the harbor, for fear of a treacherous surprise.* The 
French then made sail to the west, and presently cast anchor off 
an island, which, from the quantity of human bones discovered 
upon it by Midshipman Bienville, was called the Isle of Massacre. 

* The Spaniards, who still claimed the whole circuit of the Gulf-, had hastened to 
occupy the Pensacola harbor, the best upon it. The barrier thus formed, made the ui- 
vidiun line between Florida and Louisiana. 



164 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



The small vessels passed through the channel between two ele- 
vations, to which they gave the name of Cat and Ship 
1699 Islands. The fifty-two gun ship sailed for St. Domingo, 
Jan. 31 while the frigates lay off a group of banks, which 
received the names of the Chandeliers. Iberville 
despatched two boats to the main land, the crews of which 
found seven recently abandoned canoes, and succeeded in 
capturing two sick old Indians, whom they left with presents. 
The next day, a woman being taken and likewise sent off with 
presents, returned with two of her people, who belonged to the 
Biloxi tribe, whose name was given by the French to the bay. 
Four savages of this nation were then carried on board of Iber- 
ville's ship, while his brother, Bienville, remained upon the 
beach a hostage. On the same evening, twenty-four Bayagolas 
arrived upon the shore, being on their way to fight theMobilians, 
who, they said, lived on the banks of a great river which flowed 
into the sea, not far to the east.* 

When Iberville had caused some huts to be erected upon 
Ship Island, he entered a boat with thirty men, accompanied by 
his brother, Bienville, and Father Athanase, a Francis- 
1699 can friar, the companion of the unfortunate La Salle in 
Feb. 27 his descent of the Mississippi, and at the time when he 
was killed upon the plains of Texas. Upon the third 
day, Iberville made the Balize, and was the first to enter the 
great river from the sea. He ascended for the space often days, 
until he arrived at a town of the Bayagola nation. There he 
found, preserved by these Indians, a prayer book which belonged 
to the first expedition of La Salle, some cloaks which the dis- 
coverer had given them, a coat of mail which had belonged to the 
troop of De Soto, and a letter written by the Chevalier Tonti to 
La Salle, whom he had been disappointed in not meeting, as we 
have already seen. All these things combined to dispel the 

* Journal Historique de l'Etablissenient des Francais a la Louisiane, par Bernard de 
la Harpe, pp. 4-8. La Harpe was one of the first French settlers in Mobile, and he kept 
a journal of all he witnessed in that place, at Dauphin, Biloxi, Ship Island, etc. 




■'. ■'. 



166 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



doubts which Iberville had entertained, that this was really 

the Mississippi, and re-assured the convictions of Father 
1699 Athanase. Continuing the voyage to a point which he 

named Portage de la Croix, Iberville turned his boat 
down stream and touched at Bayou Manchac. Here Bienville, 
who was placed in command of the main boat, presently de- 
scended the river to the sea, while Iberville passed through the 
bayou in birch-bark canoes, guided by a Bayagola Indian. En- 
tering the river Amite, he soon fell into Lakes Maurepas and 
Pontchartrain, which he named in honor of the two principal 
Ministers of his King. Bienville joined him soon after he readied 
his shipping. 

At the eastern extremity of the Bay of Biloxi and within 
the limits of the present State of Mississippi, a fort, with four 

bastions and mounted with twelve pieces of artillery,. 

1699 was now erected, the command of which was given to 

May 1 Sauvolle, the elder of the two brothers of Iberville, while 

Bienville, the youngest of the three, was made lieuten- 
ant. After the colonists had built huts and houses around it, 
Iberville and the Count Sugeres sailed in the two frigates for 
France. Sauvolle despatched a vessel to St. Domingo for pro- 
visions, and Bienville, with a small command, to visit the neigh- 
boring tribes, with whom he desired to cultivate friendly rela- 
tions. Visiting the Callapissas upon the northern shore of Luke 
Pontchartrain, and the Pascagoulas upon the river of that name, 
among whom he distributed presents, and going by land from Mo- 
bile Point to Pensacola, to observe the movements of the Spaniards, 
he returned to Fort Biloxi ; but in a few days set off in a boat, again 

to explore the Mississippi river. After having ascended it 

1699 some distance, and while returning, he met, not far below 

Aug. 16 the site of New Orleans, an English Captain named Bar, 

in charge of a vessel of sixteen guns, who asserted that 
there was another vessel of the same class belonging to him at 
the mouth of the river, and that his intention was to establish an 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 167 

English colony upon the banks of the Mississippi. The ingeni- 
ous Bienville turned him toward the Gulf, by telling him that 
France had already taken possession of the river in which he 
then was, and above there had occupied it with a fort and garri- 
son , and, furthermore, that the Mississippi river lay consider- 
ably to the west. 

In the meantime, Sauvolle received two Canadian mis- 
sionaries, who had some time before established them- 
selves among the Yazoos. These holy men dropped 1699 
down the Mississippi, entered the lakes by the Bayou 
Manchac, and paid their brethren an unexpected but most pleas- 
ing visit. Upon a bluff on the Mississippi, the site of old Fort 
Adams, lived one of these men, Father Davion, who erected a 
cross in the open air, and kept his holy relics in the hollow of a 
large tree. Here he told the Indians who the true God was, and 
baptized those who were converted with the waters of the an- 
cient Mississippi. Could a life so entirely solitary, and attended 
with so many dangers, have been influenced by any other mo- 
tives than such as are prompted by the purest piety ? 

At length, the roar of distant cannon at sea announced the ar- 
rival of two large ships of war, commanded by Iberville and the 
Count Sugeres, direct from France, laden with provisions for the 
colony, and having on board thirty laborers and sixty Canadians, 
intended as military pioneers, with their commanders, 
St. Dennis and Mai ton, together with a person named Dec. 7 
Le Sueur, who had acquired some celebrity in his voyage 
to Canada. They brought the pleasing intelligence that Sauvolle 
had been appointed Governor of Louisiana, and Bienville Lieu- 
tenant Governor. Boisbriant, who also came with the ships, was 
commissioned to take the command of Fort Biloxi. 

Dreading the advance of the British, and deter- 
mined to secure the banks of the Mississippi from their 1700 
grasp, Iberville sailed, with fifty Canadians, to a point Jan. 15 
eighteen leagues above the Balize, which had been se- 



168 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

lected by the indefatigable young Bienville, who had arrived for 
that purpose a few days before, by way of Manchac, with some 
Bayagolas, who were acquainted with the inundations of the 
river. Here they immediately began the construction of a fort, 
and, after a short time, were joined by the aged Tonti, who came 
from Canada, down the Mississippi, with a few Frenchmen and 
Indians. This veteran pioneer was joyfully received by those 
who had so often heard of his intrepid and fearless adventures. 

In the meantime Sauvolle wrote to the minister, regretting 
that he was not allowed to accompany Iberville upon the Missis- 
sippi, where he could have learned so much of the country, con- 
demned the location at Biloxi as too low, sterile and sickly, and 
gave it as his opinion that the country offered no inducement to 
enterprise, except in the solitary article of hides. . He 
1700 closed his letter by expressing the hope that some mines 
of precious metals would be discovered. About this time 
Governor Roalli, of Pensacola, advanced to Ship Island with a 
man-of-war and some smaller vessels, for the purpose of expelling 
the French ; but, deterred by Iberville's fleet, he hastened back, 
leaving only a proclamation protesting against the settlement of 
any portion of the coast, the whole breadth of which, he con- 
tended, belonged to His Catholic Majesty's Mexican possessions. 
Taking with them the Chevalier Tonti, Iberville and Bien- 
ville left their new fort and ascended the Mississippi, 
Mar. 11 visiting the different tribes upon its shores, and finally 
resting at the site of the present city of Natchez, where 
lived the Indians who bore that name, and whose manners and 
customs have already been described. Delighted with this place, 
and resolved to plant a settlement there, Iberville marked out a 
town, and called it Rosalie — the name of the Countess Pontchar- 
train. From this place the Chevalier Tonti went up the river, 
and Bienville and St. Dennis, with twenty-two Canadians, started 
to the west, by an overland route, to reconnoitre the Spanish set- 
tlements, while Iberville floated down the river to rejoin his fleet. 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 169 



Returning from the west to Biloxi, Bienville was sent to 
take the command of the new establishment upon the 
Mississippi, and then Iberville once more spread the 1700 
sails of his ships for beloved France. Meanwhile the May 28 
colony languished ; the earth was not cultivated, and, 
relying for supplies from St. Domingo, horrible famine and sick- 
ness reduced the number of inhabitants to one hundred and fifty 
souls ! Sauvolle himself died, leaving the cares of the 
colony to the more redoubtable Bienville. The latter, 1701 
deploring the condition of his people, and seeing the ne- Aug. 22 
cessity of tilling the earth, in a despatch to the French 
government, urged them to send him laborers, rather than the 
vicious and the idle, who roamed the forests in search of mines 
and Indian mistresses. 

A delegation of Choctaws and Mobilians visited Fort Biloxi. 
and requested assistance in their war with the Chickasaws, 
These were succeeded by twenty other Mobilians, and the Chief 
of the Alabamas, all of whom were dismissed with pres- 
ents and exhortations to remain at peace with each other. Sept. 
At this time, the Spaniards of Pensacolaand the French 
colony were not only upon good terms, but of mutual assistance 
to each other; so much so that Bienville arrested eighteen Span- 
ish deserters and sent them back to Don Martin, the Governor of 
Pensacola. 

Iberville and his brother, Serigny, arriving at Pensacola, 
direct from France on board two men-of-war, despatched 
supplies to the colonists in smaller vessels, which were 1701 
joyfully received, as a meagre portion of corn had for a Dec. 18 
long time barely kept them alive. Having received or- 
ders to break up the colonial establishment at Biloxi, and to re- 
move it upon the Mobile, Bienville left only twenty soldiers at the 
fort, under Boisbriant, and sailed with his people to Dauphin Is- 
land, to which, as we have seen, they first gave the name of Mas- 
sacre. Here he met his brother, Serigny, and a person 
named La Salle. The latter had been sent out to perform 1702 



170 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



the duties of Marine Commissary. With forty sailors and 
some ship carpenters, Bienville began the construction of a ware- 
house on Dauphin Island. With a sufficient force of soldiers, arti- 
sans and laborers he then sailed up the bay of Mobile, and at the 
mouth of Dog river commenced the erection of a fort, a warehouse 
and other public buildings. This place received the name of Mobile,. 

from the spacious bay upon which it was situated, which 

1540 was called after the tribe of Indians who had so resolutely 

Oct. 18 fought De Soto upon the field of Maubila. The fort 

itself was long designated as Fort St. Louis de la Mo- 
bile.* Here was the seat of government for the space of nine 
years, when, in 1711, as we shall see, the French moved up to the 
mouth of Mobile river, where they founded the town of Mobile, 
which has since become the beautiful commercial emporium of 
the State of Alabama. A few days of activity and bustle had 
scarcely been passed at the new place, at the mouth of Dog rives, 
before it was made sad by the meeting of Bienville and Iberville, 
who wept for the loss of Sau voile while affectionately locked in 
each other's arms. 

Iberville had passed with his ship-of-war, the Palmier, over 

the bar of Mobile point, finding at least twenty feet of 

1702 water. It was not long before La Salle and his family 

Feb. 18 came up to Mobile, which now presented the appearance 

of a settlement, with houses and shelters. Bienville, 
anxious to obtain the friendship of all the tribes upon the Mobile 
river and its tributaries, and to institute friendly relations between 
the different savage nations themselves, had sent Tonti with a 
small command to the Choctaw and Chickasaw countries. They 

now returned, with seven Chiefs of those tribes. The 
Feb. 31 Governor gave them handsome presents, and exhorted 

them to remain at peace with the French and with each 

* In 1777 Bartram, being on a voyage from Mobile to Pearl river, in a French trading 
boat, touched at the mouth of Dog river, and saw there the ruins of old Fort St. Louis 
de la Mobile, where lay some iron cannon and some immense iron kettles, formerly used 
by the French for boiling tar into pitch.— Bartram's Travels, pp, 416-417. 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 171 

other. Then Iberville and his retinue dropped down the bay 
of Mobile, went to Pensacola, and from thence sailed for France. 

Mobile being now the seat of government, various delega- 
tions of Chiefs, Spaniards from Vera Cruz, and Canadians 
from the northern lakes and rivers, constantly repaired there 
to see Governor Bienville upon business. Among others, a 
delegation of eight Chiefs of the Alabamas arrived, whom 
his Excellency treated with kindness, and dissuaded from mak- 
ing war upon the Mobihans, Tomez and Chickasaws. Don Ro- 
bles came with a letter from the Governor of Pensacola, 
requesting the loan of provisions for his famishing gar- June 
risons, with which the generous Frenchman readily 1702 
complied. Midshipman Becaucourt, commanding the 
colonial marine, made several trips to Vera Cruz and returned 
with provisions, the King of Spain having granted the French 
free access to his colonial ports. Father Davion, the missionary 
upon the Mississippi, and Father Liomoge, a Jesuit, came by way 
of the Bayou Manchac, and reported that one of their 
companions and four other Frenchmen had been killed Summer 
by the Indians above the Yazoo river. News also 
reached Bienville, that St. Dennis, at the head of the Canadian 
scouts, had wantonly made war upon and killed some Indians 
with whom they were at peace, for the purpose of obtaining 
slaves. Bienville, grieved at his conduct, endeavored, unsuc- 
cessfully, to have the slaves restored to their people. Governor 
Martin, of Pensacola, came to Mobile, with the information that 
France and Spain had gone to war with England, and his re- 
quest to be furnished with arms and ammunition was granted by 
Bienville. He was succeeded .by two Spanish officers 
from St. Augustine, with a letter from Serda, Gover- Autumn 
nor of that place, requesting military supplies, as he 
had been blockaded by the English and Indians. Bienville sent 
to his assistance a liberal supply of powder and ball. 

The English of Carolina began to disturb the French 1702 



17'2 HISTORY OK ALABAMA. 

colonies, by sending emissaries among the Musoogees and 
Alabamas. In a very short time two artful Alabamas came 
down the river, to decoy the French into the conn try. 
1703 Having assured the (Governor that their homes abounded 
in corn, which would be furnished at the most reasona- 
ble price, the latter forthwith dispatched Labrie, with four Ca- 
nadians in canoes, to procure some. They had not pro- 
May o ceeded far, before they were all killed except one of the 
Canadians, who returned to Mobile with his arm nearly 
severed by a blow which he received from an axe. To avenge 
this outrage, Bienville began the ascent of the Mobile in seven 
canoes, in which were forty soldiers and Canadians. In four- 
teen days he arrived in the vicinity of the Alabamas, 
Dec. '28 upon the river of that name, where he discovered 
ten canoes without occupants, but saw smoke floating 
upon the air and rising over the forest trees and cane, upon the 
bluff. St. Dennis and Tonti advised him not to make the attack 
until night, to which he assented, contrary to his better judg- 
ment. The night was very dark, and the path which led to the 
Indian camp was full of weeds and briars. However, an engage- 
ment ensued, in which three Frenchmen were slain, and 
1 704 the savages dispersed. Capturing the canoes, which 
Jan. 11 were laden with provisions, Bienville returned to Mo- 
bile. But he did not relax in his efforts to be revenged, 
for he presently engaged parties of Chickasaws and Choctaws to 
puisne the Alabamas, who brought some of their scalps to Mo- 
bile, for which they received rewards.* 

An official dispatch represented the following to be the con- 
dition of the feeble colony of Louisiana at this period : 
1704 "180 men capable of bearing arms. 

Apr. 30 '2 French families, with three little girls and seven 

little boys. 

• Journal Historique de l'Ktablissement lies Efrancais a la Louisiana, par Bernard de 

la Harpe, pp. ;<5-83. 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 173 

6 young Indian boys, slaves, from fifteen to twenty years 
of age. 

A little of the territory around Fort Louis (Mobile) has been 
cultivated. 

80 wooden houses, of one story high, covered with palm 
leaves and straw. 

9 oxen, five of which belonged to the King. 

14 cows. 

4 bulls, one of which belonged lo the King. 

6 calves. 

100 hogs. 

3 kids. 

400 hens." 

This account did not, of course, include the officers. 

The colonists, suffering from severe famine, were temporar- 
ily relieved by the Governor of Pensacola, but again became des- 
titute of provisions; and, while forced to disperse themselves 
along the coast, procuring subsistence upon fish and oysters, a 
vessel of war from France, commanded by Chateaugne, another 
brother of Bienville, happily reestablished abundance among 
them. This vessel was succeeded by the Pelican, another man- 
of-war, laden with provisions, and having on board 
seventy-five soldiers intended for the various posts, La July 24 
Vente, of the foreign mission, sent as rector by the 
Bishop of Quebec, four Priests, and four Sisters of Charity, to- 
gether with four families of laborers. But what created 
more novelty and excitement than all the rest of the ar- 1704 
rivals, were twenty-three girls, whom Bienville was in- July 24 
formed, by the Minister's despatch, were all of spot- 
less chastity, pious and industrious, and that his Majesty bad en- 
joined upon the Bishop of Quebec to send no females to Mobile 
who did not bear characters as irreproachable as these. He was 
instructed to have them married to Canadians and others, who 
were competent to support them. Only a few days 
rolled round, before they all found husbands. These Aug. 



174 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



were the first marriages which were solemnize^ in old Mobile, 
or, indeed, upon any part of the soil of Alabama, by Chris- 
tian marital rites.* 

Bat sickness and disasters soon dispelled the joy which these 
arrivals had occasioned. Half the crew of the Pelican died. 

Tonti and Levassuer, invaluable officers — Father Dange, 
Sept. a Jesuit — and thirty of the soldiers lately arrived, soon 

followed them to the grave. The fort and out houses at 
Pensacola were wrapped in flames. Lambert, with his Canadians, 
driven from the post of Washita by the Indians, had fled to Mo- 
bile, where the Chicasaws and Choctaws had began a war with 
each other, which was exceedingly embarrassing to Bienville. 
More than seventy of the former, of both sexes, being in Mobile, 
and imploring Bienville to have them safely conducted to their 

nation, the route to which lay over the country of their 

1704 enemies, he despatched twenty Canadians, under Bois- 
Dec. briant, with them. Arriving at one of the Choctaw 

towns, the inhabitants assembled in great numbers to 
put them to death, but Boisbriant interposing, they fell upon a 
stratagem to accomplish their purposes. Pretending that they 
only desired to rebuke the Chickasaws for their conduct, while 
the Chief was accordingly making his speech to them, he let a 

feather fall, which was the signal for attack. The Chick- 

1705 asaw warriors were all instantly put to death, and the 
Feb. women and children reserved for slaves. Boisbriant was 

accidentally wounded by a ball, which was exceedingly 
regretted by the Choctaws, three hundred of whom carried him 
on a litter to Mobile, in mournful procession. Bienville was 
shocked and mortified at the ruthless massacre, and saw at a 
glance, that the Chickasaws would suspect him of decoying these 
unhappy people there to meet the fate which they received. 

* " The first child born in the colony, and, consequently, the first • Creole,' was named 
Claude Jousset, and was the son of a Canadian who carried on a small trading business 
at Mobile." — Louisiana, its Colonial History and Romance, by Charles Gayarie. New 
York, 1851. pp. 4G4-465. 



THE FRENCH IX ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 175 

When Boisbriant recovered from his wound, he was des- 
patched up the Alabama river, with sixty Canadians, to fight the 
Alabamas and Muscogees. After a long absence he re- 
turned with only two scalps and an Indian slave. In 1706 
the meanwhile the Chickasaws and Choctaws continued Feb. 
their war, which raged with the most savage ferocity. 
The French unavoidably became implicated in these feuds. Be- 
ing considered the exclusive friends of the Choctaws, on account 
of their proximity, they were often suddenly slain by skulking 
Chickasaws. Iberville wrote to the Minister that famine again 
prevailed in the unhappy colony of Louisiana ; that the Spaniards 
could afford them but little corn, which the men only had be- 
come accustomed to eat, the Parisian women eschewing 
it, and blaming the Bishop for not telling them what 1706 
they had to encounter in the "promised land"; that 
titty men had come to make a settlement at Mobile from the 
Upper Mississippi; and that the colonists would not unite to re- 
sist the savages and combat famine, but quarrelled among them- 
selves. At this period, Commissary General La Salle had com- 
menced a series of vindictive and unprincipled assaults 
upon the character of Bienville, in his despatches to the Sept. 7 
Court. In one of these he said that "Iberville, Bienville 
and Chateaugne, the three brothers, are guilty of all kinds of 
malpractices, and are extortioners and knaves, who waste the 
property of his Majesty." Father La Vente, the rector of Mo- 
bile, a man of bad temper and sordid feelings, and unpopular 
with the priests over whom he was placed, became a willing co- 
adjutor of La Salle in his indiscriminate abuse of the 
Governor. He, too, wrote letters to the Court, the bur- Oct. 
den of which was the corruption of Bienville's colonial 
government. He essayed to persuade the inhabitants that their 
sufferings were owing alone to the conduct of their Governor, 
who too tardily ordered supplies from France. He attempted to 
buy up the sick soldiers whom he visited by giving them (as his 



176 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

own) money which had been placed in his hands for charitable 
purposes. The Lady Superior also vented her spleen against 
Bienville, by writing to the Minister that Boisbriant had inten- 
ded to have married her, but had been prevented by the Gov- 
ernor. Hence, she adds, "Bienville does not possess the qualities 
necessary for a Governor." 

The colonists continued to lead unpleasant lives ; the Mus- 
cogees and Alabamas threatened their existence; their 
1706 hearts were troubled with the Chickasaw and Choctaw 
Dec. war ; while the quarrels among the authorities contin- 
ued to increase. Father Gravier, a Jesuit, took up the 
cudgels for Bienville, and defended him in a letter which he ad- 
dressed to the Minister. But Bienville, disdaining these 
1707 cabals, continued to discharge his duty faithfully to the 
Feb. 27 government, as far as it could be done with his means 
and ability, and in his despatches refrained from allud- 
ing to the animosities of the commissary and rec f or, except 
casually to mention that he had encountered much opposition 
from the former. Iberville, the indefatigable founder of Louisi- 
ana and the devoted friend of the colonists, died of yellow fever 
at Havana, where he had touched with his fleet while on his way 
to attack Charleston and Jamaica. This was a severe blow, 
added to the general suffering of the colony, and seri- 
Jan. 1 ously retarded its advance. About the same time, Ber- 
guier, Grand Vicar of the Lord of Quebec, came from 
the Illinois country to Mobile, and reported that St. Come, a 
missionary among the Natchez, with three other Frenchmen, had 
been murdered, while descending the Mississippi, by the Chau- 
machas. This induced Bienville to send presents to all the na- 
tions of the Lower Mississippi, which would cause them to make 
war upon those savages. The English from Carolina, aided by 
troops from Great Britain, had continued to advance 
1706 upon the Spanish settlements of the Floridas, assisted 
by large bands of Muscogee Indians, and had overrun 



THE FRENCH IX ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 177 

the greater portion of Middle and East Florida, laying waste the 
Spanish settlements, and forcing the inhabitants and friendly In- 
dians almost to abandon the country. News reached Bienville 
that they had besieged the fort of Pensacola, which had 
recently been rebuilt, he advanced from Mobile with 1707 
one hundred and twenty Canadians ; but, on reaching Nov. 24 
that place, he found that the thirteen Englishmen and 
three hundred and fifty Muscogees, who for two days had lain 
around the fort to attack it, becoming destitute of provisions, had 
already retired. 

In the meanwhile, Bienville, in a despatch to the Minister, 
urged the necessity of sending out more colonial supplies, as the 
inhabitants had not yet made plantations ample enough from 
which to derive a support. He stated that the lands were fertile 
up the Mobile River, but too unhealthy during the period of cul- 
tivating the crops. The want of negroes, horses and oxen also 
contributed its share in embarrassing the feeble efforts of the 
Louisiana planter, and failures were often made. He informed the 
Minister, further, that he had intended establishing a fort upon the 
" Tombecbe," in the vicinity of the Chickasaws, in order to secure 
the friendship of those Indians, who were the most warlike of all, 
and who were daily tampered with by the English of Carolina, but 
that the distance to that point, and the general distress of the col- 
ony, had prevented it; that all the Indians were treacherous, and 
often assassinated the French, for whose strength they had begun 
to entertain a most contemptible opinion ; that three-fourths of the 
soldiers were too young to prosecute a war, and con- 
stantly deserted, while the Canadians, whom he had de- 1707 
clined to discharge, contrary to the orders of Begar, In- 
tendant of Rochefort, were the sole pillars of the colony. In con- 
sequence of these things, he had been compelled to abandon the 
establishment upon the Mississippi. In addition, he stated that 
La Salle had refused to pay the colonists their just dues, and had 

— 12 



178 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



withheld payment from those who had been sent to a distance 
upon important duties. 

The continued reports of the malpractices of Bienville, which 
had reached the ears of the Minister, induced the French govern- 
ment to order his arrest. DeMuys was appointed Gov- 
July23 ernor of Louisiana, "to prove the facts charged against 
this person, to arrest him if they were true, and to send 
him a prisoner to France." Thus the unjust and singular position 
was assumed, of leaving to Bienville's successor to decide whether 
he was guilty or innocent! In the meantime, Bienville, hearing 
of his disgrace at Court, demanded to be dismissed from his post, 
to enable him to return to France. This startled the inhabitants 
of Mobile, who were warmly attached to him, and who imme- 
diately petitioned the government that, if Bienville's request 
should be allowed, that he should immediately be sent back to 
them as their Governor. But DeMuys, his successor and his 
judge, died at Havana on his passage out. Diron D'Artaguette 
was appointed Commissary General in the place of the growling 
La Salle, whom the government had also removed. D'Artaguette, 
more fortunate than his companion, had reached Mobile in safety, 
and was directed to investigate the charges against Bienville, 
without letting him know what they were. However, fortunate- 
ly for the cause of justice, and perhaps the future wel- 
1708 fare of the colony, D'Artaguette, in the report of his in- 
Feb. 26 vestigations to the Minister, was enabled to close by 
saying, that "all the accusations brought against Bien- 
ville were most miserable calumnies." Subjoined to this state- 
ment was the attestation of Boisbriant, now Major of the fort at 
Mobile. But the disappointed and vindictive La Salle renewed 
his accusations, in which he assured the Minister that an under- 
standing existed between Bienville and the new Commissary, and 
that the report of the latter was not to be believed. At the same 
time he denounced Barrot, the surgeon of the colony, as "an 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 179 

ignorant man — a drunkard and a rogue, who sold, for his own 
profit, the medicines belonging to the king." 

The following is a statement of the condition of the 1708 
colony of Louisiana at this period : Aug. 

GARRISON. 

14 superior officers, comprising a midshipman attending on 
the commandant. 

76 soldiers, comprising four military officers. 
13 sailors, comprising four naval officers. 

2 Canadians, serving as clerks in the warehouses, by order 
of Bienville. 

1 superintendent of the warehouses. 

3 priests, comprising one rector. 
6 workmen. 

1 Canadian, serving as interpreter. 

6 cabin boys, learning the Indian language, and intended to 
serve by land and sea as workmen. 

INHABITANTS. 

24 inhabitants who have no grants of land, which prevents 

the majority from working plantations. 
28 women. 1708 

25 children. Aug. 
80 slaves, men and women, of various Indian na- 
tions. 



157 

TOTAL. 



279, of whom six are sick. 

In addition to these there are more than 60 Canadians who 
live in the Indian villages on the Mississippi, without the per- 
mission of the Governor, and who destroy, by their evil and lib- 



180 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



ertine life with the Indian women, all that the missionaries and 
others have instructed them in the mysteries of religion. 

ANIMALS. 

50 cows. 
40 calves. 
4 bulls. 

8 oxen, four of which belong to the King. 
1400 hogs and sows. 
2000 hens, or thereabouts. 
In consequence of the death of the recently appointed Gov- 
ernor of Louisiana, and the complete overthrow of the charges 
brought against the old one, the French government permitted 
the latter to continue at his responsible and thankless post. 
Knowing that the colony could not prosper unless the earth was 
cultivated, Governor Bienville endeavored in vain to make the 
whites under him labor in the fields. On the other hand, the 
savages, whom the French had endeavored to enslave, 
1708 would escape to their native woods, at the slightest ap- 
Oct. 12 pearance of coercion. In a despatch to the Minister, 
Bienville recommended that the colonists be allowed to 
send Indians to the West India Islands, and there to exchange 
them for negroes, asserting that these Islanders would give two 
Africans for three savages. His proposition was laid before M. 
Robert, one of the heads of the Bureau of the Minister 
Nov. 28 of Marine, who pronounced against it, upon the ground 
that the inhabitants of the West Indies would not part 
with their good negroes, and that the only way to obtain such was 
by purchasing from Guinea. Another idea of Bienville's seemed 
still more unreasonable. He had given orders to watch several 
inhabitants of Mobile, to prevent them from leaving the country. 
As they had " amassed considerable property in the colony, by 
keeping public-house, it was but just," said he to the Minister, 
" to compel them to remain." 



THE FRENCH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 181 

Although discharged from office, La Salle, far from remain- 
ing quiet, continued to complain of the administration of 
the colony. He urged the Minister to send thirty 1709 
females to Mobile, to prevent, by marriage, the debauch- May 12 
ery which was committed with Indian women. He said 
that such an importation would serve to keep at home a number of 
Canadians who roamed the country in search of female slaves. He 
agreed in opinion with Bienville that negroes were indispensable 
to the prosperity of the colony ; and in this he was right, for ex- 
perience has proved that neither South Carolina, Louisiana, nor 
any other Southern State, with such low, rich lands, and with a 
humid atmosphere so destructive to the constitutions of the 
whites, could ever have been successfully brought into cultiva- 
tion without African labor. 

Commissary D'Artaguette, visiting the country lying be- 
tween Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi river, now a por- 
tion of New Orleans, found there seven Frenchmen, who 
had each planted an acre of Indian corn, brought from 1709 
the Illinois, and which grew most luxuriantly. He wrote 
to the Minister, as Iberville and Bienville had often done before, 
urging the establishment of colonies upon that river, and for 
their protection against the floods, the erection of embankments 
along the margin. 

Although LaSalle had died at Mobile early in the year 1710, 
a short time after the death of his second wife, who, like 
the first, had. been reared in the hospitals, yet Bienville 1710 
failed not to find those who were equally willing to com- 
ment, in the most illiberal manner, upon his administration. Ma- 
rigny, an officer of the garrison, in a despatch to the Minister, 
accused him with disregarding the interests of the colony. La 
Vente, the curate, who appeared officiously desirous to attend to 
the temporal as well as the spiritual affairs of Louisiana, also 
abused him without measure, attributing to him every misfor- 
tune which attended the inhabitants of Mobile. He assured the 



182 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Minister, that if the permission of the government could be ob- 
tained, they had determined to form a colony upon Dau- 
1710 phin Island, where there were twenty fortified houses, 
for the purpose of catching fish, and being more con- 
venient to the supplies which might be sent to them from Pen- 
sacola and France. Under these repeated assaults, Bienville lost 
the dignity and patience which had formerly characterized his 
conduct, and now retorted upon his adversaries with considera- 
ble acrimony. In one of his despatches, he said, that " the 
curate, La Vente, endeavored to excite everybody against him ;" 
that the curate was " not ashamed to keep an open shop and sell 
like an avaricious Jew." Verily, this father must have been a 
man who possessed too much malignity, avarice and bad tem- 
per, to have been a successful missionary in the holy cause in 

which he was ostensibly engaged. 
December Thus the year 1710 closed with such controver- 

sies, while Bienville had been obliged to distribute 
his men among the Indian towns to procure something to eat.* 
How unfortunate that the colonists, like mere children, should 
have depended upon the mother country for everything which 
went into their mouths, when moderate industry, bestowed 
higher up the Tombigby and Alabama rivers, upon the more ele- 
vated and less sickly lands, would have ensured them an abun- 
dance. 

* Histoire de la Louisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 1, pp. 78-91. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Colony of Louisiana Granted to Crozat. 

The high floods having inundated the settlements around 
Fort St. Louis de la Mobile, Bienville determined to place his 
people upon more elevated ground. All the inhabitants, except 
the garrison of the fort, removed upon the Mobile river, where, 
upon the site of the present beautiful and wealthy com- 
mercial emporium of Alabama, they established them- 1711 
selves. Here Bienville built a new wooden fort, which, March 
in a few years, was destroyed to give place to an exten- 
sive fortress of brick, called, in French times, Fort Conde, and in 
English and Spanish times, Fort Charlotte. The seat of govern- 
ment was permanently fixed here, and the leading characters of 
the colony made Mobile their headquarters. Only a small garri- 
son was left at the old settlement at the mouth of the Dog river, 
which, however, continued to guard that point for several years 
after this period. 

The Chickasaws having again engaged in a war with the 
Choctaws, at the instance of the English, and thirty of the former 
tribe being at Mobile at the time, they implored Bienville to have 
them safely conducted home, through the country of their ene- 
mies. Desiring to acquire the confidence of the Chickasaws by 
acts of kindness that would induce them to break up their alli- 
ance with the Carolinians, Bienville readily granted their request, 
and despatched his brother, Chateaugne, with thirty soldiers, to 
escort them. He was successful in his mission, and returned to 
Mobile without having met any serious adventures. 

The colony of Louisiana still remained in a precarious situ- 

183 



IS1 imstokv OF ALABAMA. 



ation. [t is true, the inhabitants bad to some extent begun the 

cultivation of tobacco, tin; first samples of which were 

I7M supposed to be superior to the quality raised inVir- 

( )c!,. 27 ginia. Wheat came up most luxuriantly, but the damp 

atmosphere destroyed it when it commenced maturing. 

Notwithstanding the long war which bad existed between France 

and England, no attacks of the enemy had been directed against 

any part, of the Louisiana colony, until about this time, when a 

pirate ship from Jamaica disembarked On Dauphin Island, and 

plundered the inhabitants of nearly all which they possessed. 
Not long afterwards, this first and last act of hostility during the 
present war, was succeeded by the arrival of a ship which came 

Upon a more agreeable mission. She brought large sup- 

1711 plies for the colony, and when she hoisted her sails to 

return to France, D'Artaguette, the commissary general, 

an accomplished man, who well understood his business, became 

8 passenger on board oi her, to the regret of all the inhabitants, 

who ardently desired him to remain longer with them. 

The following is a statement of the colonial disbursements 
of the year 17 1 1 : 

PAYMENTS. 

'I'o L2 workmen on the fortitication 4,480 /lores. 

« 28 naval officers, soldiers and cabin boys. 4,. r >72 
" superior officers 19,988 

" medicine chest • r>()<> 

« wax candles in the chapel 270 

« presents to the Indians 4,000 

maintenance of military companies 27,688 

01,504 livree. 

D'Artaguette, the colonial commissary, had a prosperous 
voyage to France, and arrived there 1 ' at the time," to use the 

eloquent language of Gayarre, w when the star of Louis XIV., 



THE COLONY of Louisiana GRANTED TO OBOZAT. 185 

which had shed such brilliant glory around for half a century, 
was almost extinguished, and the doors of the old cathedral of 
St. Dennis had already opened in expectation of receiving the 
great monarch, whom age and misfortune urged rapidly to the 
tomb." The country, too, over which he had so long reigned, 
w;is then groaning under the effects of the long, bloody smd ex- 
pensive wars which h<; had waged. The report which D'Arta- 
guette now made of the unhappy condition of the colony of 
Louisiana, induced the French Government to number that fruit- 
less and extravagant bantling among its other misfortunes. It 
determined to hand the colony over to tin; care of a company, or 
to some rich merchant, with a grant of its exclusive commerce 
and other important privileges. Accordingly, an opulent mer- 
chant, named Antoine Crozat, entered into a contract with the 
King of France. The King granted to him for the term 
of fifteen years, the exclusive commerce of all the conn- 1712 
try known as the colony of Louisiana, embracing the Sept. 14 
country upon tin; Alabama and Tombigby, with their va- 
rious tributary streams ; of all the islands at or near their entrance 
to the sea ; of all the lakes, rivers and islands connected with the 
lakes Pontchartrain. Mauripas, Borne, etc. ; of all the country 
upon the Mississippi and its numerous tributaries, from the sea 
as high up as the Illinois river, together with that of Texas. 
He also ceded to him u forever " all the lands which In; could 
establish himself upon, all the manufactures which he could put 
into operation, and all the structures which he should erect. 
The King also granted to him the proceeds of all the mines 
which he might find and work, and agreed to appropriate titty 
thousand livres annually toward the payment of his officers and 
troops in Louisiana. 

For all these privileges, Orozat obligated, on his part, to 
appropriate one-fourth of the proceeds of the mines of precious 
metals to the King's use ; to forfeit the lands which were granted 
to him « /biever" if the improvements or manufactures which lie 



186 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

placed upon them should be abandoned by him or should cease 
to exist; to send a vessel annually to Guinea for slaves for the 
colony, and to send every year two ships from France, 
Sept. 14 with a certain number of emigrants to Louisiana ; and, 
at the expiration of nine years, to pay the salaries of the 
King's officers in the colony during the remainder of his time, 
with the privilege of nominating those officers for his majesty's 
appointment. 

All this country was to be a dependency upon the govern- 
ment of New France. The ordinances and usages of the Provost 
and Viscount of Paris were to rule the colony, in connection with 
a council similar to that which then existed in St. Domingo. 

About the time that France thus abandoned our soil and the 
few white inhabitants upon it, to the wealthy Parisian merchant, 
the King, by the treaty of Utrecht, ceded to England the country 
of Nova Scotia, with its ancient boundaries. 

The population of Louisiana, now turned over to Crozat, con- 
sisted of twenty-eight families, twenty negroes, seventy - 
1712 five Canadians, and two companies of infantry of fifty 
Sept. 14 men each, the whole numbering three hundred and 
twenty-four souls. They were scattered over the colony, 
and separated by large rivers and expansive lakes, protected by 
only six forts of miserable construction, built of stakes, trees and 
earth, and portions of them covered with palm leaves. These 
forts were situated as follows : one upon the Mississippi, one upon 
Ship Island, one upon Dauphin Island, one at Biloxi, one at the 
old and the other at the new settlement of Mobile. 

At length a vessel of fifty guns disembarked at Dauphin Is- 
land the officers intended for the government of Louis- 
1713 iana under Crozat's charter. Among them were Lamotte 
May 17 Cadillac, the new Governor; Duclos, the Commissary 
General; Lebas, the Comptroller; and Dirigoin and La- 
loire de Ursins, directors of the affairs of Crozat in the colony. 
Governor Cadillac had served with distinction in the wars of 



THE COLONY OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CROZAT. 187 

Panada, and brought with him to the colony of Louisiana his 
daughter, whom he attempted, as we shall see, to marry to Bien- 
ville. He was a man of poor judgment, of weak feelings, and 
much selfishness. To interest him in the deepest manner, in ac- 
complishing his various schemes of colonial aggrandizement, Cro- 
zat had promised him a portion of his profits. But Cadillac, in 
his first despatch to the Minister, began to complain of 
everybody and everything appertaining to the colony; and 1713 
all his other documents to that high functionary were, May 17 
likewise, rilled with carping epithets, which would only 
emanate from a selfish and childish mind like his. Dauphin Is- 
land, which, he said, had been represented to him as a terrestrial 
paradise, he assured the Minister, was a poor and miserable spot, 
supporting but a few improvements, with a few fig trees and sap- 
less vines of the grape and lemon. Wheat did not grow upon the 
whole continent, having been abandoned upon the borders of 
Lake Pontchartrain and at Natchez, where one Larigne 
had endeavored to raise it. Other colonial officers, also, July 15 
hastened to complain. Duclos wrote to the Minister 
that twelve girls had lately arrived from France, who were too 
ugly and badly formed to secure the affections of the men, and 
that but two of them had yet found husbands. He was afraid 
that the other ten would remain on hand a long time. He thought 
proper to suggest that those who sent girls to the colony in future 
should attach more importance to beauty than to virtue, as the 
Canadians were not scrupulous as to the lives which their spouses 
may have formerly led. But if they were only to be offered girls 
as ugly as these they would rather attach themselves to Indian 
females, particularly in the Illinois country, where the Jesuit 
priests sanctioned such alliances by the marital ceremony. 

Duclos again wrote to the Minister, accusing Cadillac with 
having appropriated the presents intended for the In- 
dians, to his own use, and recommended that the Gov- 1712 
ernor should, in future, be required to confer with Bien- Oct. 25 



ISM HIST0B1 OF ai.auama 



v i I h * in relation i<> the distribution of Michc preHentw; the 
Latter) be remarked, having for so many years, i»y justice, 
bonor and good ;i<i vi<-.<% so happily conciliated the different tribes. 

On the same day Cadillac wrote to the Minister, the 
Oot. 25 Count Pontohartrain, thai the Inhabitants knew nothing 

of the oulture of silk, tobacco and Indigo, but confined 
their attention to the product, inn of [ndian corn and vegetables. 
That the commerce <>r the oolony consisted merely In skins of 
deer, bear, and other animals and Lumber. That the coutbwb dt 
bod hunted for peltry and slaves, which they brought to Mnhiie 
and sold, and that tin' peltry was then re-sold, together with 
vegetables and poultry, to the Spaniards ;<t, Pensaoola, or to ships 
wincii touohed upon tin* ('oust,, while tin* [ndian slaves were em- 
ployed to saw nut, Lumber and till the earth. But the very next 
day Cadillac made another despatch, In wbiob he pronounced the 
oountrv to be good for nothing, and the Inhabitants M a mass of 
rapscallions from Canada, a, cut, throat set, without subordination, 
with no respect for religion, and abandoned in vice with Indian 
women, whom (hey prefer to Frenoh girls. 11 He complained that 
upon arriving at Mobile he found the garrison dispersed In the 

w is and Indian villages, where they went in search of bread; 

that, Bienville, his brother Chateaugne, and their cousin Bois 
b riant, the Mujor of Mobile, oame to the oolony too young t<> 

know how h> drill soldiers, and had not since learned any thing 

ni proper discipline ; and that the soldiers all had Indian wives 
wild cooked for them and waited upon them — ail of which be 
pronounoed to be intolerable tie believed that the oolony pre 
sented but two objeots of oo eroe— trade with the Spaniards 

of Mexico and the working <>i preolous mines, d the lal 
L718 lei could be discovered j but that, unfortunately, i>in 

gion, one of < irozat's dlreotors, was a, man of no oapaoi 
ty, while Lebas, the comptroller, was extremely dissipated. He 
desired more tradespeople, sailors;' Canadians and artizans to be 
sent out, and a ohuroh to be erected at Mobile. But the latter 



THE COLON'S OF i.oiisiana okantki. fO GBOZAT. L8U 



the inhabitants would be delighted not to have, [ndeed, a ma- 
jority of the gentlemen, priests and missionaries, had not taken 
sacrament for eight years, the soldiers bad not kept. Palm Bun 
day, but followed the example of Bienville ami his adherents 
that the sea captain who brought < > 1 1 1- the twelve girls bad se- 
duced more than half of them upon the passage, winch was the 
cause of their not having married respeotable persons in the 
colony, ami he contended that it was best, under the oiroura- 
stanoes, that the soldiers should be allowed to marry them, for 
fear that their poverty would drive them to prostitution, in re 
laiion i<i the council which was to oo operate Ln the government 
of the colony, Cadillac said that It had not convened for the 
want of suitable members. To this string of complaints were 

added many others in a snbsc<picnt, despatch, among which 

were the following: That Bienville bad governed the colony for 

years without having discovered ;iny mines, which he 
(Cadillac) eon hi have done in a. short, t ime ; Unit, DuclOS 1714 

was guilty of great Impudence and presumption In Feb. 20 
censuring bis official acts; that the French government 
was entirely too Lenient wil b Its colonial officers and soldiers, who 
threatened to revolt and burn up Crozat's establishment; and 
Libertinism was carried to such an extent, that even the boys had 

Indian mistresses I [n again alluding tO the council, Ik; staled 

thatDuolos bad nominated tor Attorney General a storekeeper; 
lor Councillor, tin- chief surgeon ; for Secretary, Doorkeeper and 

Notary, one Roquet, a low soldier; and that, the Assembly, 

which for the present was to meet at bis house, wanted nothing 
but the bonnet and robe to make it perfect I He said that if the 
Minister did not crush the cabals formed against him by Bien- 
ville and bis clan, who kept up an Intercourse with the Inhabit- 
ants Of PeUSaCOla, tO whom they sold and from Whom they 

bought, that Crozat would be compelled to abandon his colonial 
project. He denied that be had withheld grants of land to the 
inhabitants, but admitted that, his requirement that such grant 



190 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

as he had given should be subject to the ratification of the King, 
gave great dissatisfaction. He concluded this remarkable 
despatch with the assertion that none of the lands were worth 
granting ! 

In the meantime, a ship had arrived from the mother coun- 
try with a large supply of provisions and considerable merchan- 
dize. She was followed by the Louisiana, owned by Crozat, also 
laden with provisions for the colony. Delegations of Chiefs of 
different tribes visited Mobile and smoked the pipe with Cadillac 
and Bienville, who received them with friendship, 
1714 gratified them with presents, and dismissed them under 
pledges that they would abandon the interests of the 
English of Carolina and Virginia. But even after this, twelve Eng- 
lishmen came among the Choctaws with a large number of 
Creeks or Muscogees, and were graciously received by the inhab- 
itants of all save two towns, who fortified themselves, and while 
besieged by the Creeks, one night made their escape to Cadillac 
at Mobile.* 

During the reign of Charles I. of England, the re- 
1630 gion south of the Chesapeake Bay was granted by that 
1663 monarch to Sir Robert Heath, but the projected colony 
was neglected, and the grant was forfeited. Charles II. 
decreed that this territory should assume the name of Carolina, 
and embrace the region from Albemarle Sound south waid to the 
River St. Johns and westward to the Pacific, forming a province 
vast in extent, which was conveyed to eight joint proprietors. In 
the meantime some adventurers from New England had planted 
a little colony at the mouth of the Cape Fear river. From that 
time emigrants gradually settled upon the coast now 
1670 known as that of North Carolina, and extended their en- 
terprises to South Carolina, where they formed a settle- 
ment several miles above the mouths of the Ashley and Cooper 

* Historie <le la Louisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 1, pp. 91-112. Journal Historique 
de l'Etablisseinent des Francais a la Louisiane, par Bernard de la Harpe, 78-115. 



THE COLONY OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CROZAT. 191 

rivers, and at length established themselves upon the site of the 
present city of Charleston.* 

From the time that South Carolina was thus colo- 
nized, down to the period of 1714, to which we have 1680 
brought the history of the French colony of Louisiana, 
forty-four years had passed. During much of that time. Caro- 
lina and Virginia traders had penetrated portions of the great 
Muscogee nation, which extended from the Savannah nearly to 
the Warrior, in Alabama. They also carried their merchandise 
further west into the heart of the Chickasaw nation, among whom 
they established trading shops, in defiance of the French settle- 
ments upon the Mobile. Notwithstanding that the 
French were the first, since the invasion of De Soto, to 1700 
discover and occupy the country where the Tombigby to 1714 
and Alabama lose themselves in the sea — and although 
the indefatigable Bienville had explored those rivers to their 
highest navigable points, at a very early period, freely inter- 
changing friendly assurances with the Chickasaws living upon 
the one, and the Muscogees and Alabamas upon the other — yet 
the grasping English government attempted, through its enter- 
prising traders and special emissaries, to occupy this region, and 
to induce the inhabitants to expel the French, not only from the 
head waters of those streams, but from their very mouths. 
These fearless British traders conveyed, upon the backs of 
pack-horses, such goods as suited these Indians, from distant 
Charleston to the remote Chickasaw nation, over creeks with- 
out bridges, rivers without ferries, and woods pathless and preg- 
nant with many dangers. They did not, however, establish any 
permanent trading shops upon the Coosa, Tallapoosa or Ala- 
bama, at the period under review, but occasionally traded with 
the Indians upon those streams, dwelling in their towns no 

* Hildreth's History of the United States, vol. 2, pp. 25-36. Coxe's Carolana, 2; Lon- 
don, 1741. Steven's History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. 140, 141, 58, 59. Simms' History of 
!-outh Carolina, pp. 56-57. Carroll's Historical Collections of South Carolina, vol. 1, pp. 
42-52. Ramsay's History of South Carolina, vol. 1, pp. 2-3. Hewett's History of South 
Carolina. 



IT.' iiim'.i:, 01 ALABAMA. 

longer than sufficed to dispose of their goods, and receive, In re 
turn, valuable peltries, which they conveyed back to Charleston. 
But their Intercourse frith these tribes wuh vastly pernicious t<> 
the French below, and to the Spaniards Inhabiting the province 
oi Florida, The Creeks, in conjunction with their British allies, 
Invaded the latter provinces, as we bave already seen. 

1702 Bienville bad repeatedly suggested <<> the French 

to iv ii government the neoesi Ity of establishing it fort and I rad« 
Ing post upon the Alabama river, in the immediate strong 
bold of the powerful Creeks, to counteract the Influence of the 
Carolinians ; but a war ensued between bim and the ( ireeks, with 
whom ii<- bad an engagement, ;i» we bave seen, and against whom 
in- found ii imperative, for the preservation <>i ins colony, t<» 
in. ii.- the Cbootaws and other tribes. About the commencement 
oi the year 1714, and when Crozat's charter bad ix-m In 
operation for near ;■ twelve month, Bienville, who was still 
retained bigb In authority as royal lieutenant, only second t<> 
the Governor, vvas must fortunate in making peace with the 
(nri. Having obtained from them their consent fortbeerec 
hun oi :> tort bigb up in their oountry, be was authorized i».y the 
oolonlal oounoll ;>t Mobile to immediately establish it. Crozat's 
directors deemed the location a most suitable one for the advanoe 

merit oi bis 0( leroe, besides the barrier it would interpose i«» 

the enemies "i that commerce. 

Accordingly Bienville embarked at, Mobile, with eight iron 
oannon many fire arms, ;• large supply <>i ammunition, meroban 
( i, .... mi. ,i,i,. inr the Indians, and a liberal supply <>i provisions, 
on board I wo small sailing vessels, \v Ith these vessels also went 
.i number of oanoes oi various descriptions. The expedition was 
composed of soldiers, ( lanadlans and Mobile ;n«<i Cbootaw Indians. 
Bienville sailed up the Mobile river to the confluence oi 

I7ii the Tombigby and Alabama. Here, passing with bis 

Api. i singular fleet Into the latter stream, be slowly asoended 

it. Altera long and tedious voyage, be arrived at one 



tiik COLON'S OF Louisiana GRANTED TO 0BOZAT. I'.'-i 

of the Alabama villages, not far above tbe Bite of the modern 
town of Selma. Continuing tbe voyage up the river, he succes- 
sively passed the towns of Autauga,* Powaote and Eounoharte ;1 

and at length moored Ins boats at the beautiful Indian 

town of Ooosawda. These towns were inhabited by the June 21 
Alabamas, who, as we bave seen, were members of the 
great ('reek nation, which was composed of several different 
tribes, whom they had conquered and Incorporated Into their con 
federaoy. Many of these people joined tbe fleet on Its passage 

Up the Alabama, ami joyfully greeted liien ville, who was popular 

with all the savages, and who, with wonderful facility, acquired a 
perfect knowledge of their different dialects. lie was met at 

CoOSawda by some of the most, prominent Chiefs; and here, leav- 
ing his fleet, he embarked in a oanoe, and explored the < 'oosa and 

Tallapoosa rivers for several miles up. He then resolved to erect 

ins fort at the town of Tuskegee, which was then situated on tbe 

east bank Of the ('oosa, four miles above the junction of thai 

stream with the Tallapoosa. Bienville displayed muchjudgmenl 
in the selection of ibis place, it was at tbe head of a peninsula 

formed by the Windings Of these rivers, which here approached 
wit hin six hundred yards Of each other ; after which they 

diverged considerably before i hey finally came together. 1714 

It was in the nei^hborhorhood of some of the most pop- June 22 
ulous towns, the inhabitants of which could easily bring 

down to the fort their articles <>f commerce by either river. Re- 
i urningto Ooopawda, Bienville now advanced his fleet from thence 
to the junction, where, entering tbe Coosa, be arrived at Tuske- 
gee, where the voyage terminated. The crew left tbe boats, as- 
cended tbe bluff, formed themselves In religious order, and sur- 
rounded a cross which had been hastily constructed. Two priests, 
who accompanied the expedition, chanted praises to the Most 

High, and went through other solemn ceremonies, in presence of 

a number of tin; natives, who contemplated the scene with 
• Now tin- ilte <>i Washington. i n«>w tin- iltc <>i Montgomery. 

13 



194 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

calmness and respect, and who preserved the most profound 
silence. With the assistance of the natives, Bienville began 
the erection of a wooden fort with four bastions, in each one 
of which he mounted two of the cannon. As the history of these 
cannon is rather singular, and may interest some of our readers, 
we must be allowed to digress a little from the main narrative, 
by a brief reference to it. These cannon remained upon the en- 
trenchments of Fort Toulouse from 1714 to 17G3. Then the 
French commandant spiked them, broke off the trunions, evacu- 
ated the fort, and left the cannon there in that situation. The 
English, who, in 1763, succeeded to the possession of this coun- 
try, threw a garrison into Fort Toulouse, but in a very short time 
also evacuated it and it fell into rapid decay ; but still the French 
cannon remained there. A few years after Col. Hawkins had 
been stationed among the Creeks, as their agent, he induced the 
government, as a means of encouraging agriculture, to send some 
blacksmiths to the nation. One of these men succeeded in filing 
away the spikes from two of the cannon. These the Indians used 
to fire with powder for amusement. Afterwards, the army of 
Jackson occupied the site of the old fort. In due time they 
marched away, and still these French pieces remained there. 

Finally, the town of Montgomery, now our capital, began to 
be settled, and the inhabitants went up to old Fort Toulouse, then 
Fort Jackson, and brought down two of these cannon, which they 
fired at 4th of July festivals, and upon other extraordinary occa- 
sions. When it was known that John Quincy Adams had been 
elected President of the United States, his warm friends in Mont- 
gomery determined to make the forests resound with the noise of 
powder. One of the cannon was over-charged, and when touched 
off by Ebenezer Pond, burst into pieces and mangled that gen- 
tleman in such a horrid manner, that he was a long time recover- 
ing. The breech of the other cannon was, some years afterwards, 
burst off by heavy charges, and the portion which remains now 
stands at Pollard's corner in Montgomery, being there planted in 



THE colony OF Louisiana SB AN TED TO CB0ZA.T. 195 

the ground, the muzzle up, for the purpose of protecting the corner 
of the, sidewalk. About the year 1820, another of these cannon was 
carried to the town of Washington, then county seat of Autauga, 
where the inhabitants used to fire it upon the celebration of the 
4th July, and whenever a steamboat arrived, but at length it was 
also hurst, by a party rejoicing one night at the result of a county 
election. Another of these old French pieces was carried to We- 
tumpka when that town was first established, and was fired upon 
Like occasions. It is now at Rookford, in Coosa county, in the 
possession of thesame Elbenezer Pond who was so badly wounded 
at Montgomery by the explosion of one of its mates. What be- 
came of the other tour cannon we do not know, but have under- 
stood that they, together with a fine brass piece, are in the river 

Opposite Fort Jackson. 

But to return to Bienville and his romantic expedi- 
tion. Around the stockading the governor out en- 17M 
trenohments, and one hundred years afterwards, Jack" An^. 
son placed an American fort upon the ruins, which 
assumed his nunc. Bienville occupied the summer and fall in 

Completing the tort and OUt-houses, and in explor- 
ing the surrounding country. He visited Tookabat- Nov. 
cha, upon tin; Tallapoosa, and extended his jour- 
ney among the Lower MuSOOgeeS, upon tin; Chattahoochee — 
even crossing that river, and conferring with the Chiefs in the 
towns of Coweta and Cusseta, within tin; present limits of 

Georgia. Upon all these dangerous excursions in; was accompa- 
nied by only a few faithful Canadians, and always performed his 
journeys on foot. Was not this whole expedition most interest* 
ing — nay, romantic? Here was tin; former Governor of Louisi- 
ana, and now the Lieutenant Governor, in the centre of Alabama, 

in tin; deepest depths of her forests, among people with whom he 
had been at war, and who were yet tampered with by the Eng- 
lish, visiting their towns, distributing presents, and exhorting 
them to form alliances with the French colony of Louisiana, and 



196 HISTORY <W ai.akama. 



to expel the English who should attempt to form posts among 
them. Yes ! citizen a of the counties of Montgomery) Coosa, Tal- 
lapoosa, Maoon ;in(l L'ussell, rollout that one hundred and thirty- 
seveii yours ago* the French Governor of Louisiana — the great 

and good Bienville- walked over your soil, and Instituted 
1711 friendly relations with its rude inhabitants- among 

whom not a solitary white man bad a permanent ;»i>o(ie 
— and established a small colony upon the east bank of the Coosa! 
Giving the fort the name of "Toulouse;," in honor of a dis- 
tinguished French ( !ount <>f that name, who had much to do wit h 

the government of France and her colonics, and Leaving 
Deo. 27 in command Marigny de Mandaville with thirty soldiers, 

and one of the priests, Bienville turned his boats down 
the river, and, after a prosperous voyage, arrived at Mobile with 

the Indians and Canadians who had accompanied him.| 

Thus, we set;, that although the French had been residing 
upon the Mobile river since i7()iJ, and tin; Canadians had several 
times explored Central Alabama, yet no attempt was made to 
form permanent settlements in this region, until twelve years 
afterwards, when it was so successfully accomplished by Bien- 
ville. 

Governor Cadillac, in a despatch to the Minister, attempted 

to acquire all the Credit for the peace which had been made with 
the ('reck nation, and I insisted, generally, of the important serv- 
ices which, he contended, he had rendered tin; colony. But he 
was the same inefficient, Belflsh and fault-finding officer. A Large 
majority of the inhabitants relied solely upon Bienville, who.se 
most prominent friends were Duolos, Boisbriant, Chateaugne, 

ItiohebOUJ'g, and du Tisne, and the larger number of the priest- 
hood. The friends of Cadillac were Marigny do Mandaville 
Bagot, Bloundel, Latour, Villiers and Terrine. Thus this hand- 
ful of men were at daggers' points with each other, instead of 
uniting for theirown preservation and prosperity, and that of the 



* Thlrbelng now 1851. I MS. letters obtained from Paris. 



THE COLONT OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CEOZAT. 11*7 

feeble settlements over which they bad charge. A tyran- 
nical ordinance \v;is issued in France, upon the petition 1714 
of Crozat, which farther embarrassed affairs. All persons Dec. 27 
were forbidden to bring any merchandise into Lou- 
isiana, or to carry any out of it, under penalty of confiscation 

to the profit of Crozat. No person in the colony was allowed 
to have a vessel fit to #o to sea, and all subjects of the King were 
prohibited from sending vessels to the colony to carry on com- 
merce. Croza* Was determined to avail himself of the monopoly 
which had been granted him, and this ordinance was based upon 
the representations of Cadillac, who had, more than once, com- 
plained to the Minister, that the inhabitants of the colony were 
making a little for themselves, in a commerce with tin; Spaniards, 
which was deemed a very unwarrantable thing by that 
illiberal man. Cadillac bated Bienville for several rea- 1714 
sons, the most prominent of which were, that he was 
too popular with the Canadians and Indians, too much respected 
and obeyed by the inhabitants generally, and had absolutely re- 
fused to become his son-in-law. Cadillac's daughter, who had 
been educated in France, and who, like inn- father, thought much 

of the blood and honor of the family, fell in Jove with Bienville, 
soon after her arrival in Mobile,. The proud governor could not, 
at first, brook the idea of an alliance with a Canadian, but be 
saw, as he supposed, the strong attachment of his daughter, who 
now began, like many Other hypocritical girls, to pine away and 

sicken in consequence of his refusal. Believing that Bienville's 

great influence with the inhabitants, as well as with the various 
Indian tribes, would materially strengthen his administration 
and advance the commerce of Crozat, the profits of which he was 
to share, if he could but once secure his friendship and obedience, 
he resolved to sacrifice his family dignity by gratifying the 
wishes of his daughter. Om; day he accosted Bienville, with 
much respect and suavity of manner, and invited him into his 
closet. He then disclosed to him his entire willingness to sane- 



198 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

tion the contemplated match between him and his daughter, 
charged him to treat her with affection, and concluded his con- 
versation with a very patronizing air. Bienville, much surprised 
at the whole affair, as he had never alluded to marriage in the 
few visits which be had paid the daughter, gravely assured Ca- 
dillac that he had "determined never to marry." This was too 
bad; and, from that moment, Bienville found, in the persons of 
the Governor and his daughter, two most cordial haters. 

The redoubtable Curate de la Vente continued to declaim, 
not only against the colonial government, but against 
1714 everybody except his friend Cadillac. In his despatches 
Dec. to the Minister, he said that the Canadians particularly, 
"did not wish to connect themselves with any women 
by marriage, much preferring to carry on scandalous concubin- 
age with the young Indian squaws, who were hurried by their 
nature into all kinds of irregularities." That they scarcely ever 
saw a church, never performed mass, and never partook of the 
sacraments ; that, while a few of the inhabitants did celebrate 
Sundays and festival days, the large majority resorted to tav- 
erns and to public game — "whence it is easy to comprehend, 
that they are almost all drunkards, gamesters, blasphemers of 
the holy name of God, and declared enemies of all good, mak- 
ing a matter of ridicule of our holy religion and of the persons 
who perform its exercises." They corrupted the soldiers by 
such horrid examples ; and even officers, who wore the sword 
and plume, had children by Indian females. The missiona- 
ries found themselves useless to a people who were led awny by 
such vices, and to the Indians, who were corrupted by the sins 
of the latter, and consequently they would be forced to leave a 
land so accursed. La Vente suggested to the Minister two 
plans "to rectify the affairs of the past and those of the future," 
either to solely colonize Louisiana with Christian families, or per- 
mit the French to marry the Indian women by religious rites. 



THE COLONY OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CROZAT. 199 

Or, if these plans could not be carried into effect, that 

a large number of girls, "better chosen than the last, 1714 

and especially some who will be sufficiently pleasing Dec. 

and well-formed to suit the officers of the garrisons and 

the principal inhabitants," should be sent over from France as a 

partial remedy. Verily, the worthy curate's head appeared to 

run much upon women of various grades ! 

According to the orders which he had received, De la Loire 
des Ursins made a settlement at Natchez, to promote the com- 
merce of Crozat. Cadillac set off on an expedition to discover 
mines of gold and silver in the Illinois country, and did not re- 
turn from his chimerical excursion until October, when he wrote 
to the Minister that he had everywhere set the Indians 
upon the English ; but, in truth, he had aroused the 1715 
anger of the savages against himself wherever he had 
appeared among them ; and, in descending the Mississippi, upon 
his way to Mobile, he had refused to smoke with the powerful 
and war-like Natchez Chiefs, which was highly resented on their 
part, and afterwards led to a war with the French. 

An English officer from Carolina, named Hutchey, who had 
passed through the Creek and Chickasaw nations, came into the 
territory of the Natchez. From thence he began the descent of 
the Mississippi, to form alliances with the tribes below. But Des 
Ursins, who had gained intelligence of his movements, pursued 
him in a boat, captured him near Manchac, and carried him to 
Mobile. From thence Bienville sent him to Pensacola; 
but having determined to reach Carolina by land, he was 1715 
killed upon the route by a Thomez Indian. A large July 
canoe, containing seven Alabamas, an Englishman and 
a Canadian named Boutin, arrived at Mobile. They reported that 
the Indians, bordering upon Carolina, had risen in war against 
the inhabitants of that province, had killed those upon the 
frontiers, and that even Port Royal and several other towns had 
been destroyed. The war extended to the distant Chickasaw na- 



4 J()0 HISTORY OF ai.ai'.a.ma. 



bion. There, fifteen English traders, who bad taken shelter in 
one cabin, were Instantly slain Ln the presence oi De si. Helene, 
;i Frenchman, who was then among the tribe, ;in«i who, ;i few 

minutes after the massacre, was killed himself, through 
1716 mistake, i»y two young Chiokasaws, engaged Ln the 

bloody scene, they supposing him to be one of the 
enemy. His death was regretted by all the Chiokasaws who 

Were present, . 

To profit by this intelligence, so agreeable to the French col- 
ony, Bienville immediately despatched emissaries among the 
A lab am as and Muscogees, to renew tin; alliances which he had 
formed with them, and t<> engage them t<> turn their whole com 
meroe Into French channels. He sent messengers to the Choc* 
baws, demanding the head <>r Outaotaobito, who had introduced 

l he English inl«> their nation, ;iml who had driven off tin; Inhabit- 
ants of the two C hoot aw towns that were faithfuJ to tin; French 

and who still lay around Mohile, anxious to ret, urn home. The 

messengers returned to Moi>iie with the head of this warrior, 

which had hcen reluctantly stricken oil' hy the Chiefs, who were 

afraid to disobey Bienville. They bore ;oi invitation to those 
(Jhootaws wl i they had forced to leave then- homes, to return 

III peace. 

The Storesbip Dauphin came to anchor in Mohile 
L715 bay, where she landed I, wo companies of in I'antry, 

Aug. oommanded by Mandaville and Bagot, which increased 
the expenditures of the colony to the amount <>• thirty- 
two thousand h vres a year. < >ne of the passengers, named RogeOU, 

came to nil the place of Dirigoin, <>nc of the directors of Crozat, 

who had Keen removed limn itllicc. At, t he sa me t line a frigate 
from Ivochellc, and a Infantine from I\Ia it ini(pie, arriving in the 

bay, requested permission t.o dispose; of their cargoes to the in- 
habitants; hut the authorities, anxious to perfect the monopoly 
oi Crozat, refused them the privilege. 

in the meantime, Cadillac hud not forgotten how to till the 



THE <oi.o\y OF Louisiana GRANTED T<> 0BO2SAT. 201 

sheets, winch be sent, to Count Pontcbartrain, with gloomy pic 
turesof the colony, and the licentiousness of it,s Inhabitants* in 
one of these despatches he denominated Louisiana '* a monster 
which bad neither head uor tail. 91 He complained of the mannei 
in winch the council unscrupulously altered the decrees of the 
French government. He said that the whole country was the 
poorest, and most miserable upon the globe, the people <>i' which 
would sooner believe a lie than the truth. He recommended that 
a stone fort, he erected at Mobile, but Immediately Interposed an 
obstacle to the project by saying that the topographical engineer 

was a man without, linnncMS and judgment) and was a.lway:. 

drunk. n<5 was violently opposed to tin- establl nment 

of a Colony upon tin; Mississippi, on the ground which I 7 I 5 

sustains \ew Orleans, a measure dow contemplated by 
Crozat, through the recommendation of Bienville. Reasserted 
that tie- Mississippi river was too crooked, too rapid in high tide 

and too low in the dry season, for the navigation of canoes 1 

At Length < ad I llac went I o re ,idc on |)auphm I, land, win -m- 
he had loimeily spent iinich ol his time. [t was f'orti- 
lied with lour I .arracks of palisades, covered with 1718 
rushes, and a. guard house, with a prison of the | ame .Inly 20 

style the whole surrounded with palisades very im-e;- 

ularly arranged. From this Island be Immediately I .u<-.<\ the 

following Singular ordinance; : 

ORDIM a nci. <»i \i. DE LEMOTTfl CADILLAC 

" As we have, obtained certain knowledge of several cabals 

and conspiracies which tend to revolt, and sedition, and 0D ftC 

count of some disturbances from which evil consequences may 
en lie, In order to abolish and obviate the misconduct caused by 
drunkenness, and also disturbances fomented by vromen of irregu- 
lar life, or by the Instigation of other persons who excite to renge- 

ancc those w Ik. are so nn fort una I e M to expose; them ol ves hy evil 

discoui s, and as every one takes It upon himself to carry a 



202 HISTORY OK ALABAMA.. 



sword and other weapons without having any right to do so, 
we most positively prohibit to all persons of low birth, to all 
clerks of M. Crozat, sailors and strangers lately arrived from 
France, if they are not provided with his majesty's commission, 
from carrying a sword or any other weapons, either by day or 
night, on Dauphin Island, or at any other settlements where 
there is an actual garrison, under the penalty of three hundred 
limes fine, to be applied to the erection of a church on Dauphin 
Island ; and in default of payment, the offender shall be confined 
in prison for the space of one month, and the penalty shall be 
greater for each repetition of the offence. We grant to all gen- 
tlemen the privilege of wearing a sword after having proved their 
nobility, and presented their titles to the secretary of the coun- 
cil for Examination, and not otherwise, under the same penalties. 
We grant, also, to all civil and military officers, actually serving 
in the country, permission to wear a sword, <fcc." 

Thus, while this ridiculous governor was establishing him- 
self in a court of heraldry, in a miserable cabin of palm logs on 
Dauphin Island, and pronouncing upon titles of nobility, Bien- 
ville was in the interior of the immense wilds of Louisiana, 
establishing trading posts and advancing the interests of the 
colony. Cadillac, whom the excellent commissary, Duclos, pro- 
nounced to be " an avaricious, cunning and obstinate man, who 
kept for himself everything which the court sent to the savages," 
was fast losing ground with the authorities in France. Crozat, 
in one of his last communications to him, used this language: 
"It is my opinion that all the disorders of which M. Cadillac 
complains in the colony proceed from the mal-administration of 
M. Cadillac himself." The Minister added this postscript: 
" Messrs. Cadillac and Duclos, whose characters are utterly in- 
compatible with each other, and who, at the same time, lack the 
intelligence necessary to the performance of their duties, 
1716 are recalled, and their places are rilled by others." It 
was unjust that Duclos should have been made to lose 



THE COLONY OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CKOZAT. 203 

his station because his views of colonial policy clashed with those 
of the Governor. 

The King of France had ordered Bienville to form several 
establishments upon the Mississippi, and to commence with that 
among the Natchez, with eighty soldiers. As soon as possible he 
began the construction of large canoes to be used as transports. 
Cadillac refused to place at his disposal the number of soldiers 
designated by his majesty, and Bienville, when all things were 
ready, departed with only thirty-four soldiers under the com- 
mand of Kichebourg. To these were added fifteen sail- 
ors. Bienville advanced to a town of the Tonicas, Apr. 23 
eighteen leagues below Natchez, and there learning from 
Father Davion, still a missionary among those people, that they 
were not to be trusted, and would probably become allies to the 
Natchez, he established himself temporarily upon an island in 
the Mississippi, where he erected three barracks, which he en- 
closed with piles. His object was to obtain possession of 
the persons of those Chiefs and prominent warriors of the 
Natchez, who had recently murdered some Frenchmen, in con- 
sequence of the refusal of Cadillac to smoke with them, 
which they viewed as a declaration of war. He intended, 
after he had made an example of a few Chiefs, and had 
intimidated the common people, to proceed to their towns 
and there construct a fortification in obedience to the orders 
of his King. Father Davion further informed Bienville that 
the Natchez Chiefs did not suspect that the murders which 
they had committed were known to the French authorities, and 
were anxious to keep them concealed. Bienville then despatched 
messengers up the river, who were instructed to pass by the 
Natchez during the night, and proceed toward the Wabash settle- 
ments, and inform all Frenchmen, whom they met descending, 
to be upon their guard, lor that he was stationed at the Tonicas, 
and that he was preparing to be revenged upon the murderers of 
the Frenchmen, which would possibly produce a serious war with 
that tribe. 



204 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Three Natchez, who were sent by their Chiefs to Bienville, 
arrived with the pipe of peace, but the latter declined to receive 
it, and stated that the messengers might smoke with his soldiers, 

but that he would only smoke with the Great Sun Chiefs, 

1716 for he was the Great Chief of the French. He affected 

Apr. 27 indifference about establishing a trading post among 

them, and intimated an intention to give the Tonicasthe 
benefit of his merchandise, as the Natchez Chiefs had exhibited 
such a want of respect and friendship, in not coming themselves 
to greet him. 

The three savages speedily returned home with this start- 
ling message, and with a French interpreter, who could further 

explain the reply of Bienville. One morning, Bienville 
May 8 saw four magnificent canoes descending the river, and 

bearing toward the island. Eight warriors stood erect 
and sung the pipe-song, while three Chiefs, in each canoe, sat 
under immense umbrellas. They were the Natchez Chiefs, allured 
thither by the snare which the royal lieutenant had laid for them. 
Concealing one-half of his soldiers, and advancing, with apparent 
friendship, he conducted them within his rude military works, 
which they entered singing the song of peace, and holding the 
pipe over his head. Afterwards, they passed their hands over 
his stomach without rubbing, and then over themselves. Bien- 
ville refused the pipe with contempt, and desired, first, to know 
the nature of their visit. Much disconcerted, the Chiefs went 
out and presented their pipes to the Sun. The High Priest, with 
his arms extended and his eyes fixed upon the bright luminary 

which he daily worshipped, invoked it to soften the tem- 
1716 per and change the resolution of the stern Bienville. 

Again entering the works, he presented the pipe to 
Bienville, who scornfully refused it. At that moment the Chiefs 
were seized, ironed, and placed in the prison. At night, Bien- 
ville informed the Grand Sun, and his brothers, the Angry Ser- 
pent and the Little Sun, whom he had caused to be separated 



THE COLONY OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CROZAT. 205 

from the others and brought into his presence, that nothing 
would satisfy him but to be placed in possession of the heads 
of the Chiefs who advised the murder of the five Frenchmen, and 
of those who executed the horrid deed ; that he knew that they 
were not concerned in the transaction themselves, and, 
consequently, he did not desire to take their lives, un- May 9 
less they failed to comply with his demands. He 
gave them until morning to determine upon his requisition, 
and by daylight the three brothers appeared before him, and 
implored him to remember that no one now remained in their 
town of sufficient authority to chop off the heads of the men 
whom he demanded, and requested that the Angry Serpent 
might be permitted to return home to accomplish the dangerous 
mission. Bienville refused, but sent the Little Sun in his place, 
with an officer and twelve soldiers, who conveyed him in a canoe 
within six miles of Natchez, where he was placed on shore. The 
Little Sun returned to Bienville, with three heads, two 
of which the French commander recognized as those 1716 
which he had demanded. The other head was that of May 14 
an innocent person, the brother of one of the murderers, 
who had fled to the forests. Bienville expressed his deep regret 
to the Chiefs, that they had thus caused an innocent person to 
suffer, and assured them that nothing would compromise his re- 
sentment but the possession of the head of the Chief, White 
Earth. Notwithstanding the Little Sun had acted with so much 
promptness, and had brought with him a Frenchman and two 
Illinois Indians, whom he found tied to stakes in one of the 
Natchez towns, ready to be burned to death, yet Bienville caused 
him to be ironed and remanded to prison with the others. 
The next day he despatched to the Natchez the High May 15 
Priest of the Temple and two Chiefs of War for the head 
of White Earth. They were conducted by a detachment almost 
to their village. In the meantime, by a confession of the impris- 
oned Chiefs, Bienville ascertained that the English had been 



206 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



encouraged and the Frenchmen had been killed at the instance 
of White Earth, Grigars, and two Chiefs and two warriors then 
in his custody. The Indians whom he had sent to the Natchez 
having returned without the head of White Earth, who had made 
his escape, and the inundation of the Mississippi having caused 
much sickness on the island, Bienville determined to end the 
affair by a treaty with the Chiefs, who willingly acceded to his 
terms, and were grateful that he had spared their lives. They 
bound themselves to kill White Earth whenever he could be cap- 
tured, to restore all the goods which they had seized, to cut two 
thousand five hundred piles of acacia wood, thirty feet long and 
ten inches in diameter, and to deposit them at the spot, at Natchez, 
where it was contemplated to erect a fort; and to furnish the 
bark of three thousand cypress trees, for covering the houses, by 
the end of July.* 

Adjutant Pailloux departed, with two soldiers, to the town 

of the Natchez, with the Chiefs and other warriors ; 

1716 Bienville, however, retained the Angry Serpent and his 

June 3 brother, the Little Sun, as hostages, and also kept the 

four murderers, who now rent the prison with their dole- 
ful death-songs and loud speeches of defiance. Pailloux, upon 
arriving among the Natchez, found them assembled in council, 
and learned, with pleasure, that they were satisfied with the 
compact which their Chiefs had made with Bienville. He selected 
an eminence, near the Mississippi, advantageously situated for 
that purpose, for the site of a fort. In the meantime, Bienville had 

been visited at the island by nine old Natchez men, who 

17J6 came with much show of solemnity, and invited him to 

June 8 smoke the pipe of peace with them, which he now no longer 

refused to do. He sent them home with the Little Sun 

June and four soldiers, who conveyed, in a large canoe, axes, 

9-11 spades, pickaxes, nails and other irons, to construct the 

fort. The next day, the soldiers, at the island, struck 

* Histoire cle la Louisiane, par Charles Oayarre, vol. 1, pp. 114-144. Journal Historique 
de l'Etablissement desFrancais a la Louisiane, par Bernard cle la Harpe, pp. 115-128. 



THE COLONY OF LOUISIANA GRANTED TO CROZAT. 207 

off the heads of the two warriors. Afterwards Captain 
Richebourg was obliged to depart for Mobile, on account of sick- 
ness. A number of Canadian voyageurs, whom Bienville de- 
tained at the island, while on their way from the Illinois country, 
with peltries and supplies for the people of the lower part cf 
Louisiana, now that the difficulty with the Natchez 
bad ended, were permitted to proceed down the Missis- June 13 
sippi; the loyal lieutenant caused them to take with 
them the two Chiefs, whose heads he ordered to be struck off 
twelve leagues below, which was faithfully executed. 

The Natchez, directed by the French officer and assisted by 
a few soldiers, labored upon the fort and ditches with great as- 
siduity, and soon brought the works to a state of com- 
pletion. Bienville had arrived a few days before, in Aug. 
company with the Angry Serpent, whom he had re- 2-25 
tvuned about his person until every seeming obstacle 
was overcome. Before the gate of the fort, six hundred Natchez 
warriors appeared, unarmed, and joined three hundred women in 
a dance in honor of Bienville; afterwards the Chiefs crossed the 
threshold and smoked the pipe of peace with him. Such was the 
end of the first Natchez war. 

Leaving Pailloux in command of the post at Natchez, Bien- 
ville descended the Mississippi, and sailed to Mobile for 
the purpose of reporting to Governor Cadillac. Here he Oct. 4 
received a packet from the Marine Council, in which he 
was ordered by the King of France to govern as chief of the col- 
ony, until L'Epinay, the successor of Cadillac, should arrive. He 
was thus saved the disagreeable necessity of reporting to his old 
enemy, who had, in advance, denounced his conduct to the Min- 
ister, as fraught with cruelty and the deepest treachery towards 
the Natchez Chiefs. We are not prepared to defend Bienville 
from these charges, although his course was approved by the 
government and by all the colonial authorities, with the excep- 
tion of Cadillac and his junto. 



208 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



The King of France, acceding to the request of Crozat, al- 
lowed one hundred salt-makers to be sent annually to Louisiana, 
who, after laboring there for three years, were to receive land. 
He also consented to send thither eight companies of soldiers, 
with permission to two, out of each company, to settle in the 
country, together with a hundred hospital girls, annually, to in- 
crease the colonial population. The King refused to adopt the 
suggestion of the Curate La Vente, of permitting Frenchmen to 
marry Indian women. 

For the payment of colonial expenses, for the year 1716, now 
nearly brought to a close, Duclos, the commissary-general, re- 
quired of the French government an appropriation of the follow- 
ing amounts : 

A governor 6000 livres.^ 

A commissary 6000 

A royal lieutenant 2000 « 

An adjutant 900 " 

Four captains of companies 4800 " 

Four lieutenants 3600 " 

Ensigns 2400 " 

A secretary 1000 « 

A store-keeper 800 " 

A surgeon 800 " 

A chaplain 800 « 

Incidental expenses 80992 " 



4« - 



110,092 livres* 



* Historie de la Luiiisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 1, pp. 148-152. 






CHAPTER X. 

The India or Mississippi Company. 

L'Epinay, the new governor, and the fourth which had been 
placed over the colony of Louisiana, Hubert, the new commissary- 
general, three companies of infantry and fifty colonists, 
arrived from France, on board three vessels, which be- 1717 
longed to Crozat. Among the colonists were Roi Du- Mar. 9 
breuil, Guennot, Trefoil tain e and Massy, men of worth 
and intelligence, who had formed themselves into an association 
to settle some portion of the almost boundless country of Louis- 
iana. 

To prevent the struggle for power which had never failed 
to display itself between the former governor, commissaries 
and officers of the colony, the King of France, by written in- 
structions, defined the duties of each. He declared that all mili- 
tary regulations, and the " dignity of command," should per- 
tain to the governor alone ; but in the building of public houses 
and fortifications, the marching of expeditions, and the means 
of raising funds, he was to confer with the commissary, whose 
joint views were to be presented for the ratification of his 
majesty. The administration of the funds, provisions, mer- 
chandise and everything which related to the warehouses was 
confided to the commissary, who, however, could make no bar- 
gain or sale without the consent of the governor. The ad- 
ministration of the hospitals was also confided to the commis- 
sary, with the supervision of the governor. The administration 
of justice was committed to the commissary in his function of 
first councillor and chief judge. The affairs of the police, and 

209 14 



210 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



the power of conferring grants of land were given jointly to 
these officers. Letters patent established a Supreme Council of 
Louisiana, the meetings of which his majesty authorized to be 
held either at Fort St. Louis, of Mobile, or upon Dauphin Island. 
The King granted to Bienville, for his numerous services, the 
Island of Come, not as a fief, but in villanage, and instructed 
L'Epinay to present him with the cross of St. Louis. These 
marks of favor did not reconcile Bienville, who considered him- 
self, beyond all others, entitled to the government of Louisiana. 
Consequently jealousies and disputes soon created a disagreeable 
and unhappy state of things, arraying the friends of Bienville on 
one side, and those of the governor and commissary on the 
other. As Crozat attempted to bribe Cadillac, in order to attain 
his most vigorous and successful exertions in advancing his com- 
merce, so, for the same end, he entered into a contract with 
L'Epinay, engaging to give him two thousand livres a year, and 
divers other advantages. The great monopolist had designed to 
establish a large contraband trade with the Spanish possessions 
if he could not carry on a legitimate one. But he succeeded in 
neither, and next, turning his attention to a commerce with the 
various Indian tribes upon the Mississippi, Alabama, Tombigby, 

and their tributaries, he found that so far from being 
1717 remunerated, he had to encounter the heaviest losses. 
Aug. At length, aware that he had assumed a burthen beyond 

his strength, he humbly offered to return to the King 
that charter, the extensive privileges of which he had once im- 
agined would make him the richest man in the world! The 
proposition was accepted, and the Council of State transmitted 

orders to L'Epinay to transfer the colonial government 
Oct. 27 to Bienville, and to return to France. The gubernatorial 

career of the former gentleman was of short duration, 
and remarkable for nothing, except a proclamation, in which he 
forbade the sale of brandy to the Indians — at that period a very 
unpopular measure. 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 211 



During the five years of the existence of the colony, under 
the charter of Crozat, commerce and agriculture had not pros- 
pered, yet the population had slowly increased, and now num- 
bered about seven hundred souls. The colonists, also, possessed 
some four hundred horned cattle. The inhabitants had devoted 
themselves to a trade in provisions and Indian slaves, and to a 
commerce with the Spaniards, who, despite of the watchfulness 
of Crozat's agents, had managed to carry off, annually, about 
twelve thousand piastres. 

The Marine Cabinet of France, composed of De Bourbon 
and D'Estrees, came to the conclusion that as the enterprise 
which Crozat had assumed had proved itself of too gigantic a 
character for any one man, and as it would not be proper for 
the King to take charge of Louisiana, and embarrass himself by 
entering into its thousand cares and commercial details, it would 
better comport with the welfare of France and her colony, to 
turn the latter over to the management of an association of men. 
Accordingly, the Western or India Company, with a capital of one 
hundred thousand livres,was allowed to take the unhappy people 
of Louisiana under their charge, and to expose them, once more, 
to an arbitrary and grinding monopoly. The members of this 
company were not required to be solely subjects of the King of 
France, but might be foreigners. The charter, which 
was registered in the Parliament, at Paris, gave this 1717 
company the exclusive privilege of carrying on all com- Sept. 6 
merce in Louisiana, for the long period of twenty-five 
years. It also gave them the exclusive privilege, extending from 
the 1st January, 1718, to the 31st December, 1742, of purchasing 
beaver skins from Canada — the King reserving the right of reg- 
ulating their price, and of determining the quantity to be sold. 
The company possessed the power of conferring grants, making 
war or peace with the Indians, establishing forts, levying troops, 
appointing governors, or other officers, lor the colony, upon the 
recommendation of the directors of the company ; building ves- 



'JI'J IIISToKV OF ALAItAMA. 

sels nl" \\ ;ir, c;i: I in;- pieces ol ;ul illery, and ol nnin I mi t i lie; I lie in 

ferior judges, and all fche other offloers <>r justice, the King re« 
serving to himself only the right of appointing the members of 
the Supreme ( lounoiL 

[t was further provided by the charter that the military 

OffloerB could cnlcr into ihe service of (lie eompiuiy without LOS- 
in/;- Iheil rniik in 1 lie ;uni y OT mivy, hill, lliey wire not m Mowed 

i(» leize, either in the bands <>i the directors, or in those of its 
cashier or Its agents, the effeots, shares <>•■ profits of tin 1 stock 
holders, except In oase of failure or open bankruptcy or death <»r 
said stockholders. The merchandise <>i tin 1 company w ns to be 
tree from all oharges either of entry <>r departure, and i<> those 
portions of the territory where they made permanent Improve 
ments, the company was to have durable rights, which were to 
extend also to the mines, whioh they might discover and work. 
The only thing whioh savored of liberality toward the 
1717 Inhabitants, was their exemption from taxation during 
Sept. 6 (he existenoe of the charter. The eooleslHstioal jurisdic- 
tion was still to form ;> part of the diocese of Quebec, 
while the oompany was to build ohurohes and pay 'lie clergy. 
li was t<» transport t<> the colony, during the term of its oharter, 
i\ thousand whites and three thousand negroes; but itwaspro- 
hibited from sending negroes or whites i<» the other French col- 
onies, without the permission of the < tovernor of Louisiana. The 
directors were to i>e appointed by the King, forthefirst two 
years, and afterwards they were to ho eleoted every three years, 
hy the stockholders, each of whom had a vote for every fifty 
shares, in short, the Endia Oompany was granted ;di manner <>r 
powers and privileges. 

\ oelebrated Sootohman, named Law, who was now director 
of the Bank <>r bVanoe; D'Artaguette, reoelvei general of the 
finances of Auoh; Duohe, reoelver of those of Kooholle; Moreau, 
commercial deputy of the city of si. Malo; Kiou, deputy of 
the oity of Nantes; and Ooataignes and Mauohard, merchants 



214 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

of Rochelle, were nominated by the King of France as the first 
directors for the colony of Louisiana, under the new charter. 
The company then sent over three companies of infantry, and 
sixty-nine colonists. The three vessels which bore them 
1718 arrived at Dauphin Island, and the inhabitants were re- 
Feb. 9 vived with pleasing anticipations of better times, espec- 
ially as the great and good Bienville, whom they almost 
idolized, was made Governor with a salary of six thousand livres. 
He, who had been twenty years in this wild and inhospitable 
country, and who, amidst the deepest gloom and the greatest suf- 
fering of the colonists, had never once left them, but had sus- 
tained them with his fearless spirit, mighty arm and benevolent 
heart, was eminently deserving the high post to which he was 
now elevated. The first thing he did was to seek a suitable place 
for the location of the principal settlement of the colony. He se- 
lected the site of New Orleans, which had long been a favorite 
point with him, as we have seen. He proceeded there with fifty 
persons, carpenters and galley slaves, whom he set to 
March work to clear away the woods and erect houses. He 
next sent a detachment of fifty soldiers,under Chateaugne, 
to build a fort upon the bay of St. Joseph, situated between Pen- 
sacola and St. Marks, which, being completed, De Gousy was left 
in command. From him Captain Roka, a Spaniard, induced 
twenty-five soldiers to desert and flee to St. Augustine. The post 
of St. Joseph was soon abandoned by the French, who had no 
right to settle any part of Florida, and it was immediately occu- 
pied by the Spaniards. 

In the vessels which arrived on the 9th of February came 

Major Boisbriant, who had paid a visit to France, and who was 

now commissioned a royal lieutenant, with a salary of three 

thousand livres. D'Hubert was retained as Commissary 

1718 General, with a salary of five thousand livres. These 

Apr. 28 vessels were succeeded by another, having on board sixty 

passengers for the grant belonging to Paris Duvernet 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 215 

which embraced the old Indian village of Pascagoula, where they 
were presently located. Three more ships arrived at 
Dauphin Island, which brought out Richebourg, now Aug. 35 
Chevalier of the Order of St. Louis ; Grandval, intended 
to act as major of Mobile ; Lieutenants Noyan and Meleque, and 
Daniel, major of New Orleans. At the same time there arrived 
forty commissioners, with Le Gac sub-director ; seventy persons 
for the grant of Houssays, and sixty for that of La Harpe. 

It was wisely determined to encourage agriculture, as the 
best means of increasing the wealth and importance of Louisiana ; 
and for that purpose extensive grants of land were made to the 
richest and most powerful persons of the kingdom of France. 
Four leagues square were ceded to the Scotch financier, Law, 
on the Arkansas river, where he was to settle fifteen hundred 
Germans, whom he was to protect by a small body of cavalry 
and infantry. The other persons to whom grants were made, 
likewise bound themselves to furnish a certain number of 
emigrants. But the experiment did not succeed. These great 
proprietors did send to Louisiana a few colonists, but a 
majority of them fell victims to the climate, and those who 
survived did not devote themselves to any useful occupation. 
Among the grants were several upon the Yazoo river, near Nat- 
chez, upon Red river, at Baton Rouge, and at other points upon 
the Mississippi river. Failing in the scheme to make the colony 
an agricultural country, by the importation of colonists who were 
to have settled upon these grants, the company next turned its 
attention to slavery, as a means of effecting that which was so 
much desired.* 

The following regulation of the company fixed the price the 
colonists were to pay for the negroes, which they imported from 
Africa: "The company considers every negro of seventeen 



* Histoire de la Louisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 1, pp. 
torique de l'Etablissement des Francais a la Louisiane, par i J .e 



131-144 



148-166. Journal His 
ernard de la Harpe, pp. 



216 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



years of age, and over, without bodily defect, also every negress 
from fifteen to thirty years of age, as worth ' piece d'lnde.* 

Three little negroes, from eight to ten years old, are valued 
at two of the same coins. 

Two negro children, over ten years of age, are valued at one 
4 piece d'lnde.' 

One year's credit will be given to the old inhabitants for 
half the price. The other half must be paid immediately. 

Those colonists who have been settled here two years are 
called old inhabitants. 

1718 The new settlers shall be entitled to one and two 
Sept. 25 years credit." 

In a despatch to the Minister, Bienville complained 
thac the colonists recently sent to Louisiana, were not the kind 
desirable ; that among them were to be found scarcely any car- 
penters or laborers, " notwithstanding laboring people employed 
in the country are paid ten or fifteen livres per day, which de- 
lays improvement and causes great expense to the company." 

Two vessels arrived from the mother country, and 

1719 brought the startling intelligence that Spain and France 
Apr. 19 had gone to war with each other. A council, composed 

of Bienville, D'Hubert, Larchebault and Le Gac, deter- 
mined upon the necessity of immediately possessing the im- 
portant post of Pensacola. None of the military officers were 
consulted in this movement, as they should have been, especially 

upon the plan of attack. Bienville assembled, at Mobile, 
May 13 some Canadians and four hundred Indians. His brother, 

Serigny, sailed from Dauphin Island, with three men-of- 
war, on boai d of which he had embarked one hundred and fifty sol- 
diers. Bienville embarked in a sloop, with twenty men, made the 
mouth of the Perdido, and went up the river to meet the Canadians 
and Indians, whom he had instructed to march across the country 

* Piece d'lnde was 660 livres. 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 217 

from Mobile, and whom he found already at the place of 
rendezvous. Placing himself at their head, he marched May 14 
to Pensacola. In the meantime, the fleet stood before 
that place, and at four o'clock, in the evening, Governor Mata- 
mora surrendered to the French, when he found that he was 
invested both by sea and land. According to the terms of 
the capitulation, Bienville embarked the Spanish garrison on 
board two of the men-of-war, with directions to convey them 
safely to Havana. Arriving at that place, the governor of 
Cuba ordered all the French forces to be landed and impris- 
oned, seized the two men-of-war, manned them with sailors 
and soldiers, and sent them back to attack Pensacola. This was 
a most shameful disregard of the terms of capitulation. The 
Spanish fleet, comprising the two French vessels and a Spanish 
man-of-war, with nine brigantines and eighteen hundred men, in- 
vested Pensacola, and the next day made their attack. Bien- 
ville had returned to Mobile, and had left his brother, Chateaugne, 
in command. Seeing the superior force of the enemy, fifty sol- 
diers deserted from the fort and joined the Spaniards, which 
forced Chateaugne to capitulate. He was allowed to march out of 
the fort, with the honors of war and to be carried to old Spain. 
The store ship Dauphin was accidentally destroyed by fire, and 
St. Louis was captured by the Spaniards. The commander of 
the Spanish squadron next turned his eyes to Dauphin Island, and 
presently sent thither two well manned brigantines. To the 
captain of the French ship, Phillippe, which lay at anchor at 
Dauphin Island, he sent a summons to surrender, but the 
captain referred the messenger to Serigny, who commanded 
the fort ; the latter declined to surrender the island. During 
the night two brigantines entered the bay of Mobile, and 
half way between Dauphin Island and the town of Mobile, 
landed thirty-five men to burn and plunder the inhabitants. 
While they were here destroying the improvements of a settler, 
they were suddenly attacked by a detachment of Canadians and 



218 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Indians, whom Bienville had hastened to send from Mobile, to 
support his brother, Serigny. Five Spaniards were slain, whose 
scalps the Indians immediately secured ; six were drowned in 
the endeavor to reach the brigantines, while eighteen were made 
prisoners ; among the latter were some of the French soldiers, 
who had deserted from Cheteaugne, and who were now promptly 

beheaded for their treason.* Two days afterwards the 

1719 remainder of the Spanish squadron stood before Dauphin 

Aug. 19 Island, and continued for four days to cannonade the 

Philippe and the town. Serigny, with one hundred and 
sixty soldiers and two hundred Indians, aided by the gallant officers 
and men of the Philippe, which was anchored within pistol shot 

of the fort, succeeded in repulsing the Spaniards, who 
Aug. 26 sustained considerable loss. The ships of the enemy 

then set sail for Pensacola. 
Three ships of the French line, under the command of 

Champmeslin, convoying two of the company's ships, 
Sept. 2 arrived off Dauphin Island, direct from France. The 

two Spanish brigantines, which were cruising in the bay, 
between this island and Mobile, escaped to sea and sailed to Pen- 
sacola, as soon as the French fleet was discovered. Bienville and 
Serigny repaired on board of the ship Champmeslin, where was 
presently convened a council, composed of all the sea captains 
in port, who decided to capture the Spanish squadron and to 
take the fort of Pensacola. Time was allowed the vessels to dis- 
charge their freight and to take in wood and water, and Bienville 
to assemble the savages and prepare them for the expedition. 
When all things were ready, the Philippe and the Union, vessels 
belonging to the company, were joined to the squadron, together 
with two hundred and fifty of the new troops, lately arrived, 
while Bienville, with the soldiers and volunteers, sailed in sloops 

* La Harpe states (page 155), that eighteen French deserters, who were made prison- 
ers, were bound by the Indians and carried to Bienville, at Mobile, who caused seven- 
teen of theui to be decapitated, and that the remaining one was hung on Dauphin 
Island. 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 219 

to the river Perdido, where he was joined by five hundred In- 
dians under the command of Langueville, who had marched with 
them from Mobile. From this point Bienville sent a detachment 
of French and Indians to invest the principal fort at Pensacola, 
to prevent all egress from it and to harass the enemy as much as 
possible. In the meantime, Champmeslin entered the harbor of 
Pensacola, and, after a conflict of two hours' duration, 
captured four ships and six brigan tines, which were 1719 
anchored before St. Rosa, and reduced the small fort Sept. 17 
situated at the point of that Island. Bienville, having 
marched across the country from the Perdido, had advanced in 
the rear of the town with his whole force. He made a resolute 
attack upon the fort, which was surrendered two hours after the 
victory at St. Rosa's Island. The Indians fought with great 
courage, often attempting to pull up the palisades of the fort. 
The plunder was divided among them, but they were prohibited 
by Bienville from taking any scalps. The pillage being ended, 
Champmeslin returned the sword which Don Alphonzo, com- 
mander of the Spanish fleet, had presented to him as his con- 
queror, assuring him that he was worthy of wearing it. But 
Matamora, the Governor of Pensacola, who had acted with so 
much perfidy towards the French victors, who conveyed him to 
Havana, was suffered to be disarmed by a common sailor, and was 
severely reproached for his conduct" The loss of the French in 
these engagements was only six men ; that of the Spaniards was 
much greater. Champmeslin despatched the St. Louis, one of the 
Spanish vessels, to Havana, with three hundred and sixty of the 
prisoners. The commander was instructed to demand 
an exchange of the French prisoners, at the head of 1719 
whom was Chateaugne,who had not been carried to Spain, Sept. 18 
according to the capitulation, but had been closely con- 
fined in Moro Castle. 

A Spanish brigantine from Havana, laden with corn flour 
and brandy for the garrison, entered the bay of Pensacola, sup- 



220 HISTORY OP ALABAMA. 

posing the fleet to belong to Spain, into whose hands it was now 
believed the whole of Louisiana had fallen, and was immediately 
captured by the French squadron. On the same day forty-seven 
French deserters were tried, twelve of whom were hung at the 
yard-arms of the Count de Toulouse, and the remainder con- 
demned to serve the company as galley slaves. Thus ended the 
expedition against Pensacola, the command of which was given 

to DeLisle, a lieutenant of the navy. 
1719 Since the commencement of this year, vessels from 

France had constantly brought over to Louisiana liberal 
supplies of provisions, merchandise, and not unfrequently distin- 
guished persons and emigrants, thus adding to the number and giv- 
ing character to her population, and causing her slowly to emerge 
from the supineness and insignificance of former times. For this 
reason, and also on account of the war with Spain, it became nec- 
essary to re-organize the colonial government in several respects. 
A royal ordinance decreed that a Supreme Council should be com- 
posed of those directors who were residents in the colony, the 
governor, the two royal lieutenants, four councillors, an attorney- 
general, and a secretary. Three members for civil affairs, and 
five for criminal cases, could constitute a quorum. Its jurisdic- 
tion was to be the highest in the colony, and its sessions were to 
be monthly. The former council had been the only tribunal in 
the colony, but now it was decided to establish inferior courts, 
of which the directors of the company, or their agents, weie to 
be judges, in places where they resided. These, with two respect- 
able citizens of the neighborhood, were to have cognizance of 
civil business. They were required, in criminal cases, to add four 
more citizens to their number. An appeal from their decisions 
could be had to the Supreme Council — the members of which 
were not allowed to charge for their final opinions. 

Bienville, the governor ; D'Hubert, commissary-general and 
first councillor ; Boisbriant and Chateaugne, royal lieutenants ; 
L'Archambault, Villardo and Legas, other councillors ; Cartier de 



\ 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 221 

Baune, the attorney-general ; and Couture, secretary, composed 
the first Supreme Council, which met under the auspices of the 
Western or India Company. Although the governor occupied 
the place of honor in this body, D'Hubert, the first councillor, 
was the real president, who took the vote, pronounced judgment, 
affixed the public seals, and filled the station of chief judge. 

Bienville was opposed in his long cherished desire of remov- 
ing the government to the site of New Orleans, by D'Hubert and 
the directors, who dreaded the inundations of the Mis- 
sissipi, and who contended that the colony was not in 1719 
a situation to oppose levees to the floods at that point. 
D'Hubert suggested the location of Natchez ; but as he owned 
large grants there, his motives were suspected. It was decided 
to adopt the views of L'Archambault, Villardo and Legas, who 
inclined more towards commerce than agriculture, and who rec- 
ommended that a new establishment should be formed east of the 
bay of Biloxi, which should be called New Biloxi. A detachment 
was sent there to build barracks and houses. 

The cultivation of rice, indigo and tobacco had already occu- 
pied the attention of the colonists to some extent, who found the 
lands extremely productive for those profitable plants. But the 
climate was too warm and unhealthy for European labor, and 
hence one thousand of the Children of the Sun, from Africa, had 
been introduced into the colony, and from that moment Louisiana 
began to prosper. But many things yet impeded its ad- 
vancement. Among other impediments, the company, Nov. 26 
to secure the exclusive commerce of Louisiana, issued 
an edict forbidding any vessel to enter the colony under penalty 
of confiscation. This was followed up by a proclama- 
tion, regulating the price of merchandise, which the col- 1720 
onists were compelled to buy at the company's ware- Jan. 
houses, and nowhere else. It also arbitrarily fixed the price 
which the colonists were to receive for their product, skins, and 



222 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



for everything which they had for sale.* Gayarre says : " At 
the present day, we can hardly discover how the whites, whom 
the company transported from Europe, differed from the blacks, 
who were bought from Africa, at least as to their relation to the 
company ; for these two classes of men belonged both to one mas- 
ter — the all-powerful company!" 

The Royal Squadron, intended to protect the commerce of 

Louisiana, arrived with two hundred and thirty passen- 

1720 gers, among whom were several girls, and a considerable 

Feb. 28 quantity ot provisions and merchandise. Several months 

June 8 elapsed, when two vessels of the Royal Navy bore the 

intelligence that a treaty of peace had been concluded 

with Spain. These were succeeded by three other vessels of war, 

which anchored at Dauphin Island, and which brought with 

them a contagious malady, contracted at St. Domingo, 

July 1 which killed many of the crew, and filled their bodies, 

as it was ascertained by post mortem examination, with 

horrible worms ! At the same time, the ship Hercules came with 

one hundred and twenty negroes from Guinea, and a brigantine 

from Havana arrived at Mobile with Chateaugne and others, who 

had been made prisoners at Pensacola, and who were now released 

in pursuance of the treaty of peace. 

So long as the French colony of Louisiana remained in a 
feeble and thriftless condition, the English of Carolina were con- 
tent only to annoy it occasionally ; but now that it gave signs of 
durable vitality, under the auspices of a powerful company, they 
began to oppose it with the fiercest hostility. Rivalry in trade, 
together with the national jealousy, fomented quarrels, and 
caused blood to flow betwen the Coureurs de bois and the Eng- 
lish. The French traders also met the latter in all parts of the 
Indian nations, within the limits of the present States of Alabama 

* Goods were to be obtained in the company's stores at Mobile, Dauphin Island, and 
Pensacola. To these prices, an advance of five per cent, was to be added on goods de- 
livered at New Orleans, ten at Natchez, thirteen at the Yazoos, twenty at Natchitoches, 
and fifty at the Illinois and on the Missouri. The produce of the country was to be re- 
ceived in the company's warehouses in New Orleans, Biloxi, Ship Island and Mobile. 
Martin's Louisiana, vol. 1, pp. 218-219. 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 223 

and Mississippi. Each contended for the patronage of the sav- 
ages, and each endeavored to expel the other from those situa- 
tions where they had established themselves. The Carolina 
traders, many of whom had quartered themselves in the Chicka- 
saw towns, arrayed that tribe in war against the French, and they 
committed the first act of hostility, by the murder of 
Serigny, a French officer, whom Bienville had posted 1720 
among them to cultivate their friendship. This war July 
greatly embarrassed Bienville, who, with difficulty, 
brought to his assistance the larger body of the Choctaws. At 
this time, the forces of the colony had been augmented to twenty 
companies, of fifty men each, who were required to defend the 
province of Louisiana, the inhabitants of which were scattered 
from Fort Toulouse, upon the Coosa, to La Harpe's station, upon 
Red river. The Alabamas could barely be kept neutral, for they 
complained that their peltries brought lower prices at the French 
ports, than at those of the English, and that the goods which 
they received for them, were also held at a clearer rate. 

Vessels with emigrants and provisions, continued to cast 
their anchors upon the sands of Mobile Bay. A store 
ship brought out two hundred and sixty persons for the 1720 
grant of St. Catharine, in the vicinity of Natchez. An- 
other arrived at Ship Island with two hundred and forty emi- 
grants, for the grant of Louvre, and was succeeded by 
still another, on board of which was de L'Orme, now di- August 
rector general, with a salary of five thousand livres, to- 
gether with other vessels laden with provisions, labor- Sept. 
ers and merchandise. 

In the meantime, the public houses had been completed at 
New Biloxi, and thither the government of Louisiana 
was, unwisely, transferred. It had remained at old and Dec. 20 
new Mobile since January, 1702, but during this trying 
period, of eighteen years, the governors occasionally resided at 
Dauphin Island. 



224 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



A vessel, belonging to the company, furled her sails in the 

splendid bay of Mobile, and disembarked three hundred 

1721 colonists for the grant of Madame Chaumont, at Pasca- 

Jan. 3 goula, whom the colonial government soon placed there, 

but whom they forbade to enter into any branch of 
Jan. 9 trade, such as that which would result from the culture 

of hemp, flax, and the vine, or which would compete 
Jan. 5 with the commerce of the company. A ship arrived with 

twenty-five girls, taken from a house of correction, in 
Paris, called the Saltpetriere. They had been sent over in conse- 
quence of the great complaints made to the Minister, by various 
officers of the colony, on account of the want of wives, and they 
had been confided, by the directors in France, to sister Gertrude, 
and, under her, to sisters Louise and Bergere, who were author- 
ized to conduct to Louisiana, "such girls as were willing to go 
thither and remain under the care of Sister Gertrude, until they 
shall marry, which they must not do without her consent." The 
directors or the Minister in sending these prostitutes to Mobile, 
where they soon took up their abode, did not act consistently 
with a previous ordinance, which they had passed, that "here- 
after, no more vagabonds shall be sent to Louisiana, but that any 
French and foreign families and laborers might go." Much con- 
tention now arose between the stockholders and the directors. 
The latter were reproached for their enormous outlays, and for 
the appointment of persons to govern the colonies, who appeared 
to have their exclusive interest to subserve; and Bienville was 
written to, and informed that the Regent complained that his 
services were not effectual. But to arouse all his exertions, the 

same letter promised the governor the rank of Brigadier, 

1 721 with the ribbon of St. Louis, if his future conduct should 

Mar. 17 merit them. The Africaine, a ship of war, arrived at 

Mobile, with one hundred and twenty negroes, out of 
the number of two hundred and twenty-four, who had em- 
barked at Guinea. She was succeeded by the Maire, with 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 225 

three hundred and thirty-eight more, who were, for 
the present, all quartered at Mobile, and where they Mar. 23 
remained in a state bordering upon starvation, from the 
famine which now universally prevailed in the colony. The 
Neride also came with two hundred and thirty-eight Africans, 
the remainder of three hundred and fifty who sailed from 
Angola. She had put to sea, with the frigate Charles, laden 
with negroes, which took fire and was consumed, more than 
sixty leagues from land, a large majority of her crew perishing in 
the flames. The whites escaped in the boats, with a few of the 
Africans, but tossed for many days at the mercy of the waves, 
and suffering for subsistence, the unhappy negroes were killed, 
one after another, for food ! The present population of France 
are abolitionists, and denounce the Southern States for their mild 
and beneficial system of domestic slavery, and yet their ancestors,, 
in the manner we have described, put these slaves into our pos- 
session. So did England, with her men-of-war, at the same 
period, plant her American colonies with slaves, also captured in 
Africa. The Puritan fathers of New England received them, paid 
for them, put them to hard labor, sold and re-sold them for many 
years, and yet their descendants profess to be shocked at the 
sight of a Southern slaveholder, and denounce Southern slavery 
as a " damning sin before God ! " 

With two hundred German emigrants, who were sent over 
to occupy the grant of Law upon the Arkansas river, 
came also a woman, whose adventures in Europe and 1721 
America are related in the histories of that period. She March 
was believed to be the wife of the Czarowitz Alexis Pe- 
trowitz, son of Peter the Great, Emperor of all the Russians. Her 
resemblance to that Princess was so striking as to deceive those 
who knew the latter intimately. The story ran, that to escape 
the brutal treatment of the Prince, her husband, she pretended to 
die, and was actually entombed, but when taken from the tomb 
in a few hours afterwards put herself beyond the reach of perse- 

15 



226 history of Alabama. 



cution by Hying to a foreign land. The Chevalier D'Aubont, one 
of the officers of the Mobile garrison, who had been at St. Peters- 
burg, had seen the Princess, and had heard of her strange escape, 
now believed that this woman who was then in Mobile was the 
beautiful and accomplished lady herself. He was sure he recog- 
nized her beneath the incognito which she had assumed, and 
which she appeared desirous to retain. 

The Chevalier married her, and after a long residence in 
Louisiana, most of which was passed in Mobile, she followed him 
to France, and thence to the Island of Bourbon, whither he was 
sent with the rank of Major. In 1765 she became a widow, and 
went to Paris with a daughter born in Mobile. In 1771 her 
mysterious and romantic life was terminated in the midst of the 
most abject poverty.* 

An ordinance decreed that the council should meet daily at 
New Biloxi ; that merchandise should be sold at that place, Mo- 
bile, and New Orleans, at fifty per cent, profit on the manufac- 
ture of France, seventy per cent, among the Natchez and Yazoos, 
one hundred per cent, among the Arkansas, and fifty per cent, 
among the Alabamas and Muscogees, on account of the 
1721 proximity of Fort Toulouse to the English influence, 
Sept. 5 with which the French company were anxious success- 
fully to compete. Another ordinance declared that ne- 
groes should be sold to the inhabitants at the price of the "piece 
de Inde," or six hundred and sixty livres,t in three annual in- 
stallments, to be paid in tobacco or rice. If, after the second 
year, the debtor failed to pay, the company could take 
Sept. 27 the negro if not paid for during the third year. If the 
effects of the debtor failed to discharge the whole debt, 

* Jud^e Martin, in his History of Louisiana, vol. 1, pp. 231-232, states that this woman 
w;is;in impostor, and that'she imposed on the credulity of the chevalier d'Aubont and 
many others; that she had once been attached to the wardrobe of the Princess whom 
she assumed to represent, and that a few years before the declaration Of American Inde- 
pendence a similar imposition was practiced upon the people of the Southern British 
Provinces by a female, driven by her misconduct from the post of maid of honor to Prin- 
otsfl Matilda, sister of George in. She was convicted at Old Bailey and transported to 
Maryland. Before the expiration of her time she effected her escape, traveled through 
the provinces of Virginia and the Carol inas, personating the Princess, and levying con- 
tributions upon the credulity of the inhabitants. She was at length arrested in Charles- 
ton, prosecuted and publicly whipped, t Equal to one hundred and seventy-six dollars. 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 227 

the company could then take his body. It also declared that leaf 
tobacco delivered at the warehouses of New Biloxi, New Orleans 
and Mobile should command the price of twenty livres per quin- 
tal; rice, twelve livres per quintal; wine, one hundred and 
twenty livres a hogshead ; and a quarter of brandy, the same 
price. It also declared that Louisiana should, hereafter, be formed 
into nine divisions — New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Alabama, Ya- 
zoo, Natchitoches, Arkansas, and Illinois ; that in the chief town 
of each there should be a commandant and a judge, from whose 
decisions an appeal could be had to the Supreme Council of New 
Biloxi. 

STATE OF THE COLONY AT THE CLOSE OF 1721. 

"In the vessels which the India Company has sent thither 
from the 25th October, 1717, to May, 1721, there have 
emigrated, on the forty-three belonging to it, and in the 
squadron of M. de Saunjor 7020 

These, with the 400 who were already there 400 

7420 
Of this number those who have died, deserted, or returned 

to France 2000 

5420 
To them the number of colonists is added, to which may be 
set down about 600 negroes." 

From this statement it appears that the colony of Louisiana 
had really begun to prosper, but many impediments still retarded 
its more rapid advance, among which may be enumerated its ex- 
penses, which, for the year 1721, amounted to four hun- 
dred and seventy-four thousand two hundred and sev- 1722 
enty-four livres. The company, too, issued an ordinance Mar. 12 
prohibiting the inhabitants from selling their negroes to 
the Spaniards, or to other foreigners, or taking them out of the 
colony, under a severe penalty, besides their confiscation. 



JJ28 HISTORY OF AI.AKAMA. 



Bienville, writing from Mobile, acquainted the Minister 

wiiii the difficulty of discharging the cargoes of vessels upon the 

low shores of New Biloxi, and again brought to bis consideration 

the superior advantages of New Orleans, for the capi- 

Apr. 20 tal Of the colony. One more councillor was added to 

the supreme council, which now consisted of Brusle, 

Fazende, Perry, Guilhet and Masclary. Two hundred and fifty 

Germans, commanded by the Chevalier I t'Arenshourg, a 

1722 Swedish ollicer, arrived at Mobile, with whom came 

Marigny de Mandaville, Who had obtained, in France, 

the CrOSS Of St. Louis and the command of FortOonde, in Mobile. 

This was by farthe best fort in the colony, and was now rapidly 
drawing toa state oi oompletion; it was built of brick, with four 

bastions, and a great many casements for soldiers.* The vessel 
Which brought over these Hermans bore the distressing news 
that the great royal bank, which Law, the Scotch linancier, under 
the auspices of the Duke of Orleans, had established in France, 
had utterly failed; that Law had left the country in disgrace, and 
that the people whom he had induced to take slock, found it 
worthless and themselves mined. All Paris was in a ferment, 
and no one could anticipate an end to the long train of commer- 
cial evils which the scheming ability of this Scotchman bad en- 
gendered, The company which had charge of Louisiana, and in- 
deed the chief inhabitants of the province, were SOOn made to feel 
the explosion o^ this once powerful and popular institution. 
Louisiana, herself, was deeply involved in the failure, and her in- 
habitants now feared that the government Of France would aban- 
don them, lint some supplies continued to arrive, in spite of the 
panic whioh pervaded the mother country. Duvergier, who had 

been appointed director-genera] and commander of the ma- 
il vit HI T. w ....a., a Mobile, who wrote t history of that plaoe, embodied In a directory, 
whioh he published, says that when Fori Conde (wuloh was also oalled Fort Charlotte 
i>\ i in' Hriush after i hev took possession of It,) was pulled down by the Americans some 
after the plaoe r.'ii Into their hands, that the coiner stout- was ion ml with tiu> date 
ol 1717, distinouy engraved upon it, 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 229 



rine, disembarked at Pensacola, bearing the Cross 1722 
of St. Louis for Boisbriant, St. Dennis and Chateaugne. July 25 

The failure of the Royal Bank of France, and the 
distress which it produced in all parts of that kingdom, caused 
Louisiana, for a time, to be so neglected, that the inhabitants be- 
came destitute of provisions. The officers were obliged to dis- 
miss the garrisons of Mobile and Biloxi, and send them to the 
Choctaw nation to precure subsistence among the Indians, while 
many of the colonists abandoned their homes and betook them- 
selves to the sea-side to procure a scanty living upon fish and 
oysters. It was even worse at some of the more distant posts, 
particularly at Fort Toulouse 4 , upon the Coosa, now in Ala- 
bama. There, the soldiers were tortured by famine, and cor- 
rupted by some British traders, who induced them to desert and 
fly to Charleston. The command consisted of a captain, 
a lieutenant, an ensign, a corporal and twenty-six sol- Aug. 
diers. When the latter had perfected their mutiny, the 
planning of which had occupied several days, they rose upon 
the officers, one morning, about breakfast. Capt. Marchand was 
instantly slain. Lieutenant Yillemont and Ensign Paque made 
their escape through a port-hole of one of the bastions, and lied 
to the Hickory Ground, a town of Creek Indians, three miles 
above, on the east bank of the Coosa, and embracing the lower 
suburbs of the modern city of Wetumpka. Here Villemont 
made irresistible appeals to the warriors to march against the 
mutineers. He, at the same time, despatched Paque across the 
river to the town of Coosawda, where then lived the great Chief, 
I Jig Mortar, whom the ensign succeeded in enlisting in the cause of 
the King. In the meantime, the mutineers, having killed the 
captain, intimidated the corporal, who now joined them in a gen- 
eral pillage of the fort. They appropriated to themselves the 
money and clothing of the officers, leaving only the sacred ward- 
robe of the priest, a Jesuit father, whom they did not molest. 
The magazine, constructed of brick, was forced open, and arms 



230 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

and ammunition taken from it.* The store-room was plundered 
of its contents, consisting of a very limited supply of flour and 
meat. The mutineers, after partaking of a hearty repast, marched 
off to the Red Warrior's Bluff,t where they crossed the Talla- 
poosa and took up the line of march for Charleston. Villemont, 
with the Indian force which he had speedily raised, marched 
against them. A battle ensued at the ford of Line Creek, which 
now divides the modern counties of Montgomery and 
1722 Macon. Sixteen of the deserters were slain. They all 
Aug. fought with the desperation of tigers.:}: The others, ex- 
cept two who escaped, were taken prisoners, and Ville- 
mont, who was wounded in the action, marched with them back 
to Fort Toulouse. Here the fort was found to be in a very soli- 
tary condition, being inhabited only by the Jesuit father, who 
had resolved to remain until he could get a favorable opportunity 
of going to Mobile, not believing that the brave and indefatigable 
Villemont could subdue the deserters ; the body of the unfortun- 
ate Captain Marchand had been already interred by him and 
some Indians. Villemont, the next day, obtained some canoes 
and placed the deserters in them, in charge of an Indian guard, 
at the head of which was Ensign Paque, who conveyed 
Sept. them to Mobile, where they were shortly afterwards 
executed. Villemont and the priest were solitary in- 
mates of Fort Toulouse for several months, until another garri- 
son was sent up the river. The lieutenant had, however, many 
Indian warriors lying around the fort, who were ready to aid 
him if he had been attacked by the English, who were anxious 
to occupy this post.§ 

* Some of the brick of this magazine are yet to be seen lying about the ruins of old 
Fort Toulouse, now called old Fort Jackson, and 1 have several of them in my house, 
taken from that place, 
t The Red Warrior's Bluff of that day is the present Grey's Ferry. 
+ The bones of these sixteen Frenchmen lay, for many years, very near the house 
which Walter B. Lucas afterwards erected, and where be for a long time kept enter- 
tainment. 

& The revolt of the garrison of Fort Toulouse, upon the Coosa, is mentioned by 
Gayarre. in his History of Louisiana, vol. 1, p. 190 ; by La Harpe, p. '261 ; by Judge Mar- 
in, vol. 2, p. 239; but I have derived the chief facts from Indian traditions handed down 
y General Alexander McGillivray, a very great Indian Chief of mixed blood, who was 
he grandson of the unfortunate Captain Marchand, who was killed upon this occasion. 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 231 

Fortunately, a vessel arrived with provisions for the King's 
troops. She brought the news that the Regent had entrusted the 
affairs of the colony to the management of three commissioners : 
Ferrand, Faget and Machinet. A detailed account of a 
great hurricane which swept along the coast of Lou- 172*2 
isiana, of the desertion of soldiers, sailors and workmen, 
and a recommendation to allow free passage to all who might 
choose to return to France, as a remedy for desertions gen- 
erally, formed the subjects of a communication ad- 
dressed by De FOrme to the Minister. While the dis- Oct. 30 
tressing situation of the colony rendered the offices of the 
three commissioners by no means sinecures, embarrassments were 
further produced by a war which the Natcheshad begun, and the 
worthlessness of the paper money hitherto used in the colony, to 
remedy which cards were substituted after the notes were sup- 
pressed. One Michel, of Mobile, was the person appointed to en- 
grave these cards. 

The new commissioners who had succeeded to the director- 
ship of the company, readily acceded to the long cher- 
ished wish of Bienville, to remove the seat of govern- 1723 
ment to New Orleans, and it was accordingly estab- 
lished at that place.* The population of New Orleans, at that 
period numbered only two hundred souls, who occupied a hun- 
dred huts and cabins ! 

The commissioners of the company, in a new code of regula- 
tions, declared that negroes should hereafter be sold at six hun- 
dred and seventy-six livres,f payable in one, two or three years, 
either in rice or tobacco. The province was divided into nine dis- 
tricts, civil and military, as follows : Alabama, Mobile, Biloxi, 
New Orleans, Natchez, Yazoo, Illinois, Wabash, Arkansas and 
Natchitoches. There was a commandant and a judge appointed 

* Histoirede Louisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 1, pp. 166-193. Journal Histori que 
del'Establissement des Francaisa la Louisiane, par Bernard de la Harpe, pp. 144-289.=— 
Martin's History of Louisiana, vol. 1, pp. 218-244. 

t Equal to one* hundred and sixty-nine dollars. 



232 HISTORY OF ALA HA MA. 



for eaob of these districts. Three great ecclesiastical districts 
were also formed. The first was entrusted to the Capuchins, and 
extended from the mouth of Mississippi river to Illinois. The bare- 
footed Carmelites were stationed at Fort Toulouse, upon the 
Coosa river, at Mobile and at Biloxi, while the Jesuits labored 
upon the Wabash and Illinois. Churches and chapels were or- 
dered to be constructed, for many of the colonists had been 
forced to worship in the open air, around crosses, the bottom 
parts of which were buried in the ground ! 

Bienville restored Pensaoola to the Spaniards in pursuance of 
orders from his government; for Spain and France had 
172IJ concluded a peace. In a despatch to the Minister, he 
Stated that his allies, — the Choctaws, — had destroyed 
three towns of the Chiekasaws, and had brought to him one hun- 
dred prisoners and four hundred scalps! Bienville communi- 
cated this intelligence with much apparent gusto, accompanied 
with the remark that "this important result was obtained with- 
out risking tin; life of a single Frenchman." 

Although the colonists often existed in a state of penury and 
want, they did not abandon their passion for gambling, which 
was ('aiiicd to such an extent that the government issued an 
ordinance against all games of chance. An ordinance was also 
promulgated against the trade which many of the colonists were 
illicitly conducting with the Natchez Indians. The month of 
September terminated with a dreadful tornado, which prostrated 
the Church, the hospital, and thirty houses in New Orleans; de- 
stroyed the crops upon the Mobile and Pearl rivers; dismantled 
the shipping in the different ports, and left the whole colony in 
a condition of wretchedness and famine. Added to all this, a 
wdiole company of Swiss infantry, which had embarked at Biloxi 
for New Orleans, rose upon the captain of the vessel and com- 
pelled him to carry them to Charleston. Yet, in the 
1728 midst of all these calamities, the indefatigable Bienville 
Oct. departed from New Orleans with seven hundred men to 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 233 

punish the Natchez, who had recently killed several French- 
men. He returned after having terminated the second war 
with them, by procuring the heads of the principal offend- 
ers. Notwithstanding the important services which this great 
man was continuing to render the colony, his relentless enemies 
sought every opportunity to make him odious to the ruling pow- 
ers of France. Aspersed in dispatches, which were speedily 
borne across the ocean, he was at the same moment insulted at 
home by libellous placards in the streets. At length he 
received orders to sail for France, to answer the charges 1724 
against him, leaving the command to Boisbriant until Feb. 16 
his return. 

But before Bienville embarked upon the broad Atlantic, he 
issued the celebrated " Black Code," in the name of 
the King. It declared that all Jews should leave the 1724 
colony ; that all slaves should be instructed in the Ro- March 
man Catholic religion ; that no other religion should 
be tolerated in the colony ; that if the owners of negroes were not 
true Catholics, their slaves should be confiscated ; and that the 
white inhabitants should not enter into marital relations with 
negroes, nor live with them in a state of concubinage. 

The " Black Code" contained many other articles in relation 
to the government of slaves — some of which were precisely like 
those now in force in the Southwestern States of the present con- 
federacy. The year 1724 was remarkable for arbitrary edicts; 
but there was one which was beneficial. The inhabitants had 
become so accustomed to rely upon France for all the necessaries 
of subsistence, that valuable cattle, sent to Louisiana for pur- 
poses of propagation, were always killed and devoured. An 
ordinance was issued by the King, at the request of the Superior 
Council, punishing with death every person who should inten- 
tionally kill or severely wound any horse or horned animal which 
did not belong to him. 



234 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

De la Chaise, nephew of the famous father of that name, who 
was the confessor of Louis XI V\, presided over the coun- 
1725 oil, which was now held monthly in the town of New 
Orleans. 
But to return to Bienville. That brave man appeared at 
Paris, after a prosperous voyage, and submitted an eloquent 
memoir to the King in justification of his official conduct. It 
also contained a history of the services to which he had, from the 
commencement of the colonial establishment, devoted a period of 
twenty-five years. But, in despite of his true exposition of his 
arduous labors spent in the insalubrious forests of America, 
among savages and reptiles, and in spite of the exertions made by 
his friends, both in France and Louisiana, to re-establish him in 
the confidence of the King, he was removed from office, 
1726 and Perrier nominated Governor of Louisiana. The 
Aug. 9 government did not stop here. Chateaugne, the brother 
of Bienville, lost the post of Royal Lieutenant, while two 
nephews of Bienville, named Noyan, one a Captain and the other 
an Ensign, were cashiered without any just cause. Thus the in- 
fluence of Bienville was overthrown in Louisiana. In the mean- 
time the new Governor arrived in New Orleans. 

Governor Perrier, in a despatch to the Minister, employed 
this language in reference to the encroachments of the English of 
' South Carolina : « The English continue to urge their commerce 
into the very heart of the province. Sixty or seventy horses, 
laden with merchandise, have passed into the country of the 
Ohickasaws, to which nation I have given orders to plunder the 
English of their goods, promising to recompense them by a 
present. As yet I have heard nothing from that quarter. It 
appears that a league was formed among all the Indian nations 
of their neighborhood to attack the Spanish settlements. Where- 
upon the Governor of Pensacola requested assistance 
] 727 from me. Having no news from Europe, I thought it 
was for our interest not to have the English so near us, 



THE INDIA OR MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. 235 

and, in consequence, informed the Tallapoosas,* who were before 
Pensacola, that if they did not immediately retire I should attack 
them with those nations who were friendly to us. I also gave 
notice to the Alabamas, that if they attacked the Spaniards, who 
were our friends, I should be compelled to assist the latter. But 
I should have taken care not to have interfered with the natives 
who were friendly to us, in order that I might not commit myself 
with regard to the English. This had a good effect. The Gov- 
ernor thanked me, informing me that war was declared in 
Europe. Notwithstanding, I shall indirectly assist the Spanish 
until I receive other orders from your highness, at the same time 
taking the liberty to represent that our sole effort should be to 
prevent the English from approaching us. 

" I have caused all the nations, from the Arkansas to the 
mouth of the river, to make peace with each other. There re- 
main at variance only the Choctaws and Chickasaws, 
who have a discussion concerning a Chief of the latter 1727 
nation who was killed by the former. I shall go to Mo- 
bile to settle their affairs, and shall take measures with them to 
prevent the English from entering our territory during the ensu- 
ing year, and by degrees to abolish the custom which they have 
formed, of trading for all the deer skins obtained by the Indians, 
in order, that the latter may not be obliged to , trade with the 
English to get rid of them." 

A vessel belonging to the company arrived with quite a num- 
ber of young girls, who, unlike many others who had been sent 
to Louisiana, had not been taken from the house of correction. 
They were each provided with a little chest, containing articles 
of apparel, and from this circumstance they were called girls de 
la cassette — girls of the chest. They were placed under the sur- 
veillance of the Ursuline nuns until they could be disposed of by 
marriage.! 

* Meaning the Creeks, who lived upon the Tallapoosa river. 

t Histoire dela Louisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 1, pp. 193-235. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Terrible Massacre at Natchez. 

The colony of Louisiana was now in a nourishing condition ; 

its fields were cultivated by more than two thousand negroes ; 

cotton, indigo, tobacco and grain were produced ; skins 

1728 and furs of all descriptions were obtained in a traffic 
with the Indians; and lumber was extensively exported 

to the West India islands. The province was protected by eight 
hundred troops of the line; but the bloody massacre of 

1729 the French population of Fort Rosalie, at the Natchez, 
arrested these rapid strides of prosperity, and shrouded 

all things in sadness and gloom. Our library contains many ac- 
counts of this horrible affair, which harmonize very well with 
each other ; but in reference to the causes which led to it, more 
particularly, we propose to introduce the statement of Le Page 
Du Pratz, who was residing in Louisiana at the time. We give 
his account, in his own faithful style : 

"Chopart had been commandant of the post of the Natchez, 
from which he was removed on account of some act of injustice. 
Governor Perrier, but lately arrived, suffered himself to be pre- 
possessed in his favor, on his telling him that he had commanded 
that post with applause, and thus he obtained the command from 
Perrier, who was unacquainted with his character. This new 
commandant, on taking possession of his post, projected the form- 
ing of one of the most eminent settlements of the whole colony. 
For this purpose he examined all the grounds unoccupied by the 
French, but could not find anything that came up to the grandeur 
of his views. Nothing but the village of the White Apple, a 
square league, at least, in extent, could give him satisfaction, and 

236 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 237 

there he resolved immediately to settle. This ground was dis- 
tant from the fort about two leagues.* Conceited with the beauty 
of his project, the commandant sent for the Sun of that village, 
to come to the fort ; upon his arrival, he told him, without cere- 
mony, that he must look out for another ground to build his vil- 
lage on, as he, himself, resolved, as soon as possible, to build on 
the village of the Apple, and that he must directly close the huts 
and retire somewhere else. The better to cover his design, he 
gave out that it was necessary for the French to settle on the 
banks of the rivulet, where stood the great village and the abode 
of the Grand Sun. The commandant, doubtless, supposed that 
he was speaking to a slave, whom we may command in a tone of 
absolute authority. But he knew not that the natives of Louisi- 
ana are such enemies to a state of slavery that they prefer death 
itself; above all, the Suns, accustomed to govern despotically, 
have still a greater aversion to it. 

********** 
"The Sun of the Apple made answer, that his ancestors had 
lived in that village for as many years as there were hairs in his 
double cue, and, therefore, it was good they should continue there. 
Scarce had the interpreter explained this answer to the 
commandant, when the latter fell into a passion, and, Spring 
threateningly, told the Sun, that if he did not quit his vil- of 
lage, in a few days, he might repent it. The Sun replied : 1729 
'When the French came to ask us for land, to settle on, they 
told us there was land enough still unoccupied for them, and that 
the same sun would enlighten them all, and all would walk in the 
same path.' He wanted to proceed further, in justification of 
what he alleged, but the commandant, in a passion, said he was 
resolved to be obeyed. The Sun, without discovering any emo- 

* "The site of the White Apple village was about twelve miles south of the present 
city of Natchez, near the mouth of second creek, and three miles east of the Missis- 
sippi. The site was occupied by the plantation of Colonel Anthony Hutchens, an early 
emigrant to Florida. All vestiges of Indian industry have disappeared except some 
mounds in the vicinity." — Monette's History of the Valley of the Mississippi, vol. 1, 
p 258. 



238 HISTORY OF ALABAMA, 



tion or passion, then withdrew, only observing that he was going 
to assemble the old men of his village to hold a council upon the 

affair. 

* * * * ***** 

" In this council it was resolved to represent to the com- 
mandant, that the corn of all the people of their village was 
already shot a little out of the earth, and that all their hens 
were laying their eggs. That if they quitted their village 
now, the chickens and corn would be lost both to the French and 
to themselves. * * * * The commandant turned a deaf ear 
to these views, and threatened to chastise the Chiefs if they did 
not comply with his orders, in a very short time, which he named. 
The Sun reported this answer to his council, who debated the 
question. But the policy of the old men was, that they should 
be allowed to stay in their village until harvest, and until they 
had time to dry their corn and shake out the grain. 
Summer In consideration of this privilege, they each proposed 
of 1729 to pay the commandant, in so many moons, a basket of 
corn and a fowl. * * * * The cupidity of the 
commandant made him accept the proposition with joy, and 
blinded him with regard to the consequences of his tyranny. He, 
however, pretended that he agreed to the offer out of favor, to 
do a pleasure to a nation so beloved, and who had ever been good 
friends of the French. The Sun appeared highly satisfied to have 
obtained a delay sufficient for taking the precautions necessary 
to the security of the nation, for he was by no means the dupe 
of the feigned benevolence of the commander. 

" The Sun, upon his return, again caused the council to be 
assembled. * * * * He stated to them that it was neces- 
sary to avail themselves of this time, in order to withdraw them- 
selves from this proposed payment and tyrannic domination of 
the French, who grew dangerous in proportion as they multi- 
plied. That the Natchez ought to remember the war made upon 
them, in violation of the peace concluded between them. That 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 239 

this war, having been made upon their village alone, they ought 
to consider of the surest means to take a just and bloody ven- 
geance. That this enterprise being of the utmost importance, it 
called for much secrecy, for solid measures, and for much policy. 
That it was proper to cajole the French chief more than ever, and 
that the affair required reflection before it was proposed to the 
Orand Sun. 

" In the meantime, the old men had come to the determina- 
tion, not only to revenge themselves, but to engage in the entire 
destruction of all the French in the province. When, therefore, 
the council again met, the most venerable man rose and delivered 
the following speech : 

'"We have a long time been sensible that the neighborhood 
of the French is a greater prejudice than benefit to us. . We, who 
are old, see this — the young see it not. The wares of 
the French yield pleasure to the youth, but to what Summer 
purpose is it, except to debauch the young women, and of 1729 
taint the blood of the nation, and make them vain and 
idle? The young men are in the same condition — they must 
work themselves to death to maintain their families and please 
their children. Before the French came among us, we were 
men, content with what we had, and walked with boldness every 
path. Now we go groping about, afraid of meeting briars. 
We walk like slaves, which we shall soon be, since the French 
already treat us as if we were such. When they are sufficiently 
strong, they will no longer dissemble. For the least fault of 
our young people they will then tie them to a post and whip 
them. Have they not already done so to one of our young 
men, and is not death preferable to slavery? What wait we 
for? Shall we suffer the French to multiply till we are no 
longer in a condition to oppose them ? What will the other na- 
tions say of the Natchez, who are admitted to be the greatest of 
all the Red men ? Let us set ourselves at liberty. * * * 
From this very day let our women get provisions ready, without 



240 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

telling them the reason. Go and carry the pipe of peace to all 
the nations of this country. Tell them that the French, being 
stronger here than elsewhere, enslave us the more ; but when 
they spread out they will treat all nations in like manner. That 
it is their interest to join us to prevent so great a misfortune. 
That they have only to join us to cut off the French to a man in 
one day and in one hour ! " 

Here the speaker continued his address and exhorted them 
to be prepared to fall upon the French at nine o'clock, on the 
morning of the day when they were to deliver to the command- 
ant the corn and chickens, and that the warriors were to carry 
with them their arms, as if going to hunt. They unanimously 
approved of his views, and pledged themselves to carry them out. 
Du Pratz continues : '« Notwithstanding the profound secrecy ob- 
served by the Natchez, the council held by the Suns and aged 
nobles gave the people great uneasiness, unable, as they were, to 

penetrate into the matter. The female Suns had alone, 

Fall of in this nation, the right to demand why they were kept 

1729 in the dark in this affair. The young grand female 

Sun was a princess scarce eighteen. None but the Stung 
Arm, a woman of great wit, and no less sensible of it, could be 
offended that nothing was disclosed to her. In effect, she made 
known to her son her displeasure at this reserve with respect to 
herself. He replied that the several deputations were made in 
order to renew their good intelligence with the other nations, to 
whom they had not, in a long time, sent an embassy, and who 
might imagine themselves slighted by such neglect. This 
feigned excuse seemed to appease the princess, but not quite to 
rid her of all her uneasiness, which, on the contrary, was height- 
ened upon the return of the embassies, when she saw the Suns 
assemble in secret council together. She was filled with rage, 
which would have broken out, if her prudence had not set bounds 
to it. Happy it is for the French that she imagined herself neg- 
lected. I am persuaded that the colony owes its preservation to 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 241 

the vexation of this woman, rather than to any affection which 
she entertained for the French, as she was now far advanced in 
years, and her French gallant long since dead. In order to get 
to the bottom of the secret, she prevailed on her son to accom- 
pany her on a visit to a relation that lay sick at the village of the 
Meal, and leading him the most distant and retired route, took 
occasion to reproach him with the secrecv he and the other Suns 
observed with regard to her. She insisted on her right, as a 
mother, and her privilege as a princess, adding, that although 
the world and herself, too, had told him he was the son of a 
Frenchman, yet her own blood was much dearer to her than that 
of strangers ; that she need not apprehend she would ever betray 
him to the French, against whom, she said, you are plotting. 

"The son, stung with these reproaches, told her it was 
unusual to reveal what the old men of the council had 
once resolved upon, and as he was Grand Sun, he ought Fall of 
to set a good example in this respect; but seeing you 1729 
have guessed the whole affair, I need not inform you 
further. You know as much as 1 do myself, only hold your 
tongue." 

" She replied that she was in no pain to know against whom 
he had taken his precaution, but as it was against the French this 
was the very thing that made her apprehensive he had not taken 
his measures aright, in order to surprise them, as they were a 
people of great penetration, although their commandant had none. 
Her son told her that she had nothing to apprehend as to the 
measures taken ; that all the nations had heard and approved 
their project, and promised to fall upon the French in their neigh- 
borhood on the same day with the Natchez; that the Choctaws 
had resolved to destroy all the French lower down and along the 
Mississippi, up as far as the Tonicas, to which last people, he 
said, we did not send, as they and the Oumas are too much 
wedded to the French. Heat last told her that the bundle of 

— 16 



242 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



rods* lay in the temple, on the flat timber. The Stung Arm, 
being informed of the whole design, pretended to approve it, and 
leaving her son at ease, henceforward was only solicitous how 
she might defeat this barbarous design. The time was pressing, 
and the term fixed for the execution was almost expired. Un- 
willing to see the French cut off to a man in one day, she resolved 
to apprise them of the conspiracy through some young woman who 
loved them, enjoining them never to tell from whom they had their 
information.! She desired a soldier whom she met to tell the com- 
mandant that the Natchez had lost their senses, and to desire him 
to be upon his guard. The soldier faithfully performed his com- 
mission, but the commandant treated him as a coward 
Fall of and a visionary, — caused him to be placed in irons, and 
1727 declared he would never take any steps towards repair- 
ing the fort, as the Natchez would then imagine he was 
a man of no resolution. The Stung Arm fearing a discovery, 
notwithstanding her precaution and the secrecy she enjoined, re- 
paired to the temple and pulled some rods out of the fatal bundle. 
Her design was to hasten the time fixed, to the end that such 
Frenchmen as escaped the massacre might apprise their country- 
men, many of whom had informed the commandant, who placed 
seven of them in irons. The female Sun, seeing the time ap- 
proaching, and many of those punished whom she had charged to 

* By all ancient and modern Indians rods or sticks were used to assemble the nation 
together. A Chief was accustomed to send forth a warrior with a bundle of sticks, and 
as he journeyed towards the towns to which he was despatched he would throw away 
one of these sticks at the close of each day. When he gave them to the party to whom 
he was bearing them, the latter also continued, at the close of every day, to throw away 
a stick. The Chiefs who sent these sticks also kept a duplicate number, and each day 
threw away one, so that those at a distance and those at the council house would meet 
together on the same day, when the last stick had been thrown away. In modern times 
sending sticks was called " sending out the broken days." 

t "The Sieur de Mace, ensign of the garrison of the fort at Natchez, received advice 
by a young Indian girl who loved him. She told him, crying, that her nation was to 
massacre all the French. M. De Mace, amazed at this discourse, questioned his mistress. 
Her simple answers and her tender tears left him no room to doubt of the plot. He went 
immediately to give chopart intelligence of it, who put him under arrest for giving false 
alarm."— Hossu's Travels through Louisiana, letter 3, addressed to the Marquis de L'Ls- 
trade, vol. 1, p. 62. London, 1771. 

Bossu also states that Chopart. becoming enraged at Dumont, the second in com- 
mand, for remonstrating with him against his tyranny towards the Natchez in the 
commencement of the spring, placed that excellent ofhcer and faithful historian in 
irons.— Vol. 1, p. 48 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 243 

acquaint the governor, resolved to speak to the under-lieutenant, 
but to no better purpose. Notwithstanding all these warnings, the 
commandant went out the night before on a party of pleasure, 
with some other Frenchmen, to the grand village of the Natchez, 
without returning to the fort till the break of day, where he had 
no sooner arrived than he was admonished to be upon his guard. 
Still stimulated with his last night's debauch, he added impru- 
dence to neglect, and despatched his interpreter to demand of the 
Grand Sun whether he intended to kill the French. The Grand 
Sun, though but a young man, knew how to dissemble, and spoke 
in such a manner to the interpreter as to allay his suspicions and 
fears.* 

We propose now to introduce the statement of Father Le 
Petit, who at the time of its occurrence was residing in New Or- 
leans, respecting the massacre itself. He was a learned and pious 
Jesuit priest. The following is his letter to Father D'Avaugour, 
procurator of the missions in North America : 

"At New Orleans, 12th July, 1730. 
" My Reverend Father — the Peace of our Lord be with you : 

* * * * "After having given you an imperfect idea of the 
character and customs of the Natchez Indians, I proceed, my rev- 
erend father, as I have promised you, to enter upon a detailed ac- 
count of their perfidy and treason. It was on the second of De- 
cember of the year 1729, that we learned they had surprised the 
French, and had massacred almost all of them. This sad news 
was first brought to us by one of the planters, who had escaped 
their fury. It was confirmed to us on the following day by other 
French fugitives, and finally, some French women, whom they 
had made slaves, and were forced afterwards to restore, brought 
us all the particulars. 

" At the first rumor of an event so sad, the alarm and con- 
sternation was general in New Orleans. Although the massacre 

* DuPratz' Louisiana, pp. 79-90. In copying this author's statement, I have occasion- 
ally omitted some redundancies and uninteresting detail. 



244 HISTOKY OF ALABAMA. 

had taken place more than a hundred leagues from here, you 
would have supposed that it had happened under our own eyes. 
Each one was mourning the loss of a relative — a friend — or some 

property ; all were alarmed for their own lives, for there 

J 729 was reason for fear that the conspiracy of the Indians 

Oct. 28 had been general. This unlooked for massacre began on 

Monday, the 28th of October, about nine o'clock in 
the morning. Some cause of dissatisfaction which the Natchez 
thought they had with the commander, and the arrival of 
a number of richly laden boats for the garrison and the colo- 
nists, determined them to hasten their enterprise, and to strike 
their blow sooner than they had agreed with the other confeder- 
ate tribes* First they divided themselves, and sent into the 
fort, into the village, and into the two grants, as many Indians as 
there were French in each of these places. Then they feigned that 
they were going out for a grand hunt, and undertook to trade 
with the French for guns, powder and ball, offering to pay them 
as much, and even more, than was customary ; and, in truth, as 
there was no reason to suspect their fidelity, they made at the 
time, an exchange of their poultry and corn for some arms and 
ammunition, which they used advantageously against us. It is 
true that some expressed their distrust, but this was thought to 
have so little foundation that they were treated as cowards, who 
were frightened at their own shadows. They had been on their 
guard against the Choctaws ; but as for the Natchez, they had 
never distrusted them, and they were so persuaded of their good 
faith that it increased their hardihood. Having thus posted 
themselves in different houses, provided with the arms obtained 
from us, they attacked, at the same time, each his man ; and in 
less than two hours they massacred more than two hundred of 
the French. The best known are M. De Chopart, commander of 
the post; M. Du Codere, commander among the Yazoos ; M. Des 

* Father Le Petit is mistaken as to the causes which hastened the massacre. It will 
be recollected that DuFratz told us that Stung Arm pulled out several sticks from the 
bundle, and it was this which brought on the time sooner. 



TKRRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 245 

Ursins ; Messieurs De Kolly, father and son ; Messieurs De Lon- 
grays, Des Noyers, Bailly, etc. 

« The Father Du Poisson had just performed the funeral 
rites of his associate, the brother Crucy, who had died very sud- 
denly of a sunstroke ; he was on his way to consult Governor 
Perrier, and to adopt with him proper measures to enable the 
Arkansas to descend the banks of the Mississippi, for the accom- 
modation of the voyagers. He arrived among the Natchez on 
the 26th of November, that is, two days before the massacre. 
The next day, which was the first Sunday of Advent, he said 
mass in the parish, and preached in the absence of the cure. He 
was to have returned in the afternoon to his mission 
among the Arkansas, but he was detained by some sick 1729 
persons, to whom it was necessary to administer the Oct. 28 
sacraments. On Monday he was about to say mass, and 
to carry the holy sacrament to one of those sick persons whom 
he had confessed, the evening before, when the massacre began. 
A gigantic Chief, six feet in height, seized him, and having 
thrown him to the ground, cut off his head with blows of a 
hatchet. The father, in falling, only uttered these words : 'Ab, 
my God! ah, my God!' M. Du Codere drew his sword to de- 
fend him, when he was himself killed by a musket ball from 
another Indian, whom he did not perceive. 

" The barbarians spared but two of the French, a tailor 
and a carpenter, who were able to serve their wants. They 
did not treat badly, either the negro slaves or the Indians who 
were willing to give themselves up; but they ripped up the ab- 
domen of every pregnant woman, and killed almost all those who 
were nursing their children, because they were disturbed by 
their cries and tears. They did not kill the other women, but 
made them their slaves, and treated them with every indignity 
during the two or three months that they were their masters. 
The least miserable were those who knew how to sew, because 
they kept them busy in making shirts, dresses, etc. The others 



2 H» HI8T0B v OF ma r.A m a. 



wen- employed In cutting and carrying wood for oooking, and in 
pounding theoorn of which they made their tagamite, But two 
thlngi, above all, aggravated the grief and bardnesi of tbeir 
slavery , it was, in the first place, to have for masters, those same 
persons whom they bad seen dipping Lii«ir cmci immiH in the 
blood of their husbands; and, In the second plaoe, <> 
L729 hear them continually saying that the ETrenoh bad been 
Oot. 28 treated In the same manner at all the other posts, and 
that the country was now entirely freed from them. 
« During the massacre, the Sun, <>r the Great Chief <>r the 
Natohez, was seated quietly under the tobacco hImhI <>r the com 
pany. His warriors brought to bis feet the head <>r t£ie com- 
mander, about which they ranged those <>r the principal Frenoh 
of tin- post, Leaving their bodies a prey to the dogs, the buzzards, 
and other carnivorous i»inis.* When they were assured that no 
other Frenoh men remained at I in- post, they applied themselves to 
plunder the bouses, the magazines <>i the [ndian oompany, and 
all the boats whlob were still loaded by the banks <>r the river. 
They employed the negroes to transport the merchandise, which 
they divided among themselves, with the exoeption of the muni- 
tions <>i war, winch they plaoed, for security, In ;i separate 
oabin. while the brandy lasted, <>r winch they found ;» good 
supply, they passed their days and nights In drinking, sing- 
ing, danoing, and Insulting, In the most barbarous manner, the 
dead bodies and the memory <>r the Frenoh. The Chootaws 
and the other Indians being engaged In the i>i<>i with them, 
they icii ;ii ihcir ciiHc, and did not ;ii all fear that they would 

• Dumont, in his " Memoirei Hiitorlques sur laiLouiili ," tone ., pp, 1 1:> i in, thui 

M|IHIllll m| ( llo|..l I I 

••in iin mi.i t of the general muiiori of the Prenoh, Ohoparl revived, hi ii Provi 
donee had wished 1 ir< him ■ a witness of the destruol f so man] Inhabitant 

w 1 1" won lil n, 1 1 I i.i ii' | ><i i In- (I I nit loi In | loll y ||i i i-i-iio |, i.-.-.l 1 1 , ;il laSt, OUt tOO l.ilr, 

and raising in in iii i ion, in in . in i,i,i ,,i taking his gun and plaoing himsel J <mi the 
'ii' i • in ' . Iin Mad io in • u,i,ii, w hr 1 1' Mr f.i\ i i whistle. In ordei to call the soldiers <>t 
tin nil on, i tn i i iii y win- no i no M' iio ion iii sea iii .ii mi ii, i iii iii, i,\ the hIiIch oi the 
r iii i'i< 'i . w iii. 1 1 1- iifin rii iii i i '.i 1 1 ii'ii, i iii i .ii 1 1 1 i ir H ii w 1 1 1 1 i in' 1 1 carcasses \ i the 

ii i he w i in i oiiii.i.-ii i.\ ih. no, , who breathed nothing n than IiIm 

death, wlille f them wished to lay hands upon liiui. They considered him ■> I 

•i "dog, H imwoiiiiN oi being kiliud ii\ .i brave man. and they made the ohiel stinking 
tome, w in. i. iii. ,i linn with i lie I roke "i n olub." 



TERRIBLB Kf A 88 A ORB at NTATOHEZ. 247 



draw on I herasel vts i he vengeance wiiidi was merited by 
their cruelty and perfidy. <>ne night, when they were plunged 
in drunkennesB and sleep, Madame Dee Noycrs w I bed to make 
use <>r Mm- negroes to revenge the death of her busband and 
i he French, but she was betrayed i»y the person to whom 
she confided her design, and oame very near being burned alive. 
" Some of the Prenoh escaped tin- fury <>r the Indians by 
taking refuge In the woods, where they suffered extremely from 
hunger ami the effects "i I be weather.* ( me <»i them, on arriving 
here, relieved us of a little disquietude we felt in regard to the 

pOSt We OCOUpy anion;-; I In- V a ZOOS, which Ls not more than I'm I y 

or fifty leagues above the Natchez by water and only from fifteen 
to twenty by land. Not being able to endure the extreme cold 
from which be suffered, be left the woods under cover ol the 
night, to go and warm himself In the house of ;> Frenchman. 

VVIm'H he was near It be heard the voices ol Indians, and delih 
Crated whether he should enler. lie determined, however, to do 

so, preferring rather to perish by the hands of these barbarians 
than to die of famine and cold. He was agreeably surprised when 

he found these savages ready tO render him a service, lo heap 

kindness upon him, to commiserate him, to console him, to fui 

nish him with provisions, clothes and a, hoat to make his escape 

to New Orleans. These were the STazoos, who wen- returning 
from chanting the oalumet, at Oumas. The Chief charged 

him to say to M. Terrier licit he had nothing to le.u on the pari 
Of the Ya/oos, that 'they would not lose their spirit,'- I hat is, 

that they would always remain attached to the French, end that 
be would he constantly on the watch with bis tribe, to warn the 

* in ;i <i< patch made by Oovernoi Perrlei t" the Mini ter in Franoe, dated the imi h 

tffaroh 1780. he lay pi i * • " A general i n Inatlon of the French ei d. whieh oo 

oupled but little time; one ; 1 1 ■ •• i ■• attaol terminated it with the < tceptlon ol the hou «■ 
"i \i i.i i -Hii- dei Uriini, iii which thorn win < • i »• lit nun, i ix ol whom were killed, and 
the remaining two eioaned during the nighl in. Indlani having heen utuihlc to Mdz< 
i iii'in ilurlnu the day. M. la Loire dei IJrilni wai mounted on ■> i * * • » < when the ittui I 
commenced, and hci nu unable I " regain hli houie. he defended lilmiell until he fell, 
having killed four Indian Thui It hi coil the Natchez only twelve men to deitroy 
twobundred and fifty <>i <>iu people «■.. i, ( . m tolre de la i ouliiane, \<>i i, pp. 



'^48 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

French boats that were descending the river, to be on their guard 
against the Natchez. 

« We believed, for a long time, that the promises of this Chief 
were very sincere, and feared no more Indian perfidy for our 
post among the Yazoos. Rut learn, my reverend father, the dis- 
position of these Indians, and how little one is able to trust their 
words, even when accompanied by the greatest demonstrations 
of friendship. Scarcely had they returned to their own village, 
when loaded with presents they received from the Natchez, they 
followed their example and imitated their treachery. Uniting 
with the Corroys, they agreed together to exterminate the 
French. They began with Father Souel, the missionary of both 
tribes, who was then living in the midst of them, in their own vil- 
lage. On the 11th of December, Father Souel was re- 
1730 turning in the evening from visiting the Chief, and 
Dec. 1 1 while in a ravine, received many musket balls, and fell 
dead on the spot. The Indians immediately rushed to 
his cabin to plunder it. His negro, who composed all his family 
and all his defense, armed himself with a wood-cutter's knife, to 
prevent (he pillage, and even wounded one of the savages. This 
zealous action cost him his life, but happily less than a month 
before he had received baptism, and was living in a most Chris- 
tian manner. 

"These Indians, who even to that time seemed sensible of 
the affection which their missionary bore them, reproached them- 
selves for his death, as soon as tney were capable of reflection ; 
but returning again to their natural ferocity, they adopted the 
resolution of putting a finishing stroke to their crime, by the de- 
struction of the whole French post. 'Since the Black Chief is 
dead, 1 said they, 'it is the same as if all the French were dead; 
let us not spare any.' The next day they executed their barbar- 
ous plan. They repaired, early in the morning, to the fort, which 
was not more than a league distant, and whose occupants sup- 
posed, on their arrival, that the Indians wished to chant the cal- 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 249 

umet to the Chevalier des Roches, who commanded that post, in 
the absence of M. de Codere. lie had but seventeen men with 
him, who had no suspicion of any evil design on the part of the 
savages, and were, therefore, all massacred, not one escaping their 
fury. They, however, spared the lives of four women and five 
children, whom they found there, and whom they made slaves. 
One of the Yazoos having stripped the missionary, clothed him- 
self in his garments, and shortly after announced to the Natchez 
that his nation had redeemed their pledge, and that the French, 
settled among them, were all massacred. In this city, there was 
no longer any doubt on that point, as soon as they learned what 
came near being the fate of Father Doutreleau. This missionary 
had availed himself of the time when the Indians were en- 
gaged in their winter occupations, to come and see us, for the 
purpose of regulating some matters relating to his mission. He 
set out On the first of this year, 17M, and not expecting to arrive 
at the residence of Father Souel, of whose fate he was ignorant, 
in time to say mass, he determined to say it at the mouth of the 
Little Yazoo river, where his party had cabined. 

w As he was preparing for the sacred office, he saw a boat 
full of Indians landing; they demanded from them of what na- 
tion they were. * Yazoos, comrades of the French,' they replied, 
making a thousand friendly demonstrations to the voy- 
agers, who accompanied the missionary, and presenting 17o<» 
them with provisions. While the father was preparing Jan. 1 
his altar, a tlock of bustards passed, and the voyagers 
fired at them the only two guns they had, without thinking of 
reloading, as mass had already commenced. The Indians noted 
this, and placed themselves behind the voyagers, as if it was 
their intention to hear mass, although they were not Christians. 
At the time the father was saying the Kgrie FAeison, the Indians 
made their discharge; the missionary, seeing himself wounded 
in his right arm, and seeing one of the voyagers killed 
at his feet, and the four others fled, threw himself on his 



250 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

knees to receive the last fatal blow, which he regarded 
as inevitable. In this posture he received two or three 
discharges, but although the Indians fired while almost 
touching him, yet they did not inflict on him any new wounds. 
Finding himself then, as it were, miraculously escaped from so 
many mortal blows, he took to flight, having on still his priestly 
garments, and without any other defence than entire confidence 
in God, whose particular protection was given him, as the events 
proved. He threw himself into the water, and after advancing 
some steps gained the boat, in which two of the voyagers were 
making their escape. They had supposed him to be killed 
1730 by some of the many balls which they had heard fired on 
Jan. him. In climbing up into the boat, and turning his 
head to see whether any one of his pursuers was follow- 
ing him too closely, he received in the mouth a discharge of small 
shot, the greater part of which were flattened against his teeth, 
though some of them entered his gums and remained there for a 
long time. I have myself seen two of them. Father Doutreleau, 
all wounded as he was, undertook the duty of steering the boat, 
while his two companions placed themselves at the oars ; unfor- 
tunately one of them at setting out had his thigh broken by a 
musket ball, from the effects of which he has since remained a 
cripple. * * * As soon as they found themselves freed from 
their enemies, they dressed their wounds as well as they could, 
and for the purpose of aiding their flight from that fatal shore 
they threw into the river everything they had in their boat, pre- 
serving only some pieces of raw bacon for their nourishment. It 
had been their intention to stop in passing at the Natchez, but 
having seen that the houses of the French were either demolished 
or burned, they did not think it advisable to listen to the compli- 
ments of the Indians who, from the bank of the river, invited 
them to land. They placed a wide distance between them as soon 
as possible, and thus shunned the balls which were ineffectually 
fired at them. It was then that they began to distrust all the 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 251 

Indian nations, and, therefore, resolved not to go near the land 
until they reached New Orleans ; and supposing that the savages 
might have rendered themselves masters of it, to descend even to 
the Balize, where they hoped to find some French vessel provided 
to receive the wreck of the colony. * * * I cannot 
express to you, my reverend father, the great satisfac- 1730 
tion I felt at seeing Father Doutreleau, his arm in a Jan. 8 
scarf, arrive (in New Orleans) after a voyage of more 
than four hundred leagues, all the clothes he had on having been 
borrowed, except his cassock. I placed him immediately in the 
hands of brother Parisel, who examined his wounds and who 
dressed them with great care and speedy suscess. The mission- 
ary was not yet entirely cured of his wounds when he departed 
to act as chaplain to the French army, as he had promised the 
officers, in accordance with their request. 

" Knowing as you do, my reverend father, the vigilance 
and the oversight of our Governor, you can well imagine that 
he did not sleep in this sad crisis in which we now found 
ourselves. We may say, without flattery, that he surpassed 
himself by the rapid movements he made, and by the wise meas- 
ures he adopted to revenge the French blood which had been 
shed, and to prevent the evils with which almost all the posts of 
the colony were threatened. As soon as he was apprised of this 
unexpected attack, by the Natchez Indians, he caused the news 
to be carried to all the posts, and even as far as the Illinois, not 
by the ordinary route of the river, which was closed, but on one 
side by the Natchitoches and the Arkansas, and the other by 
Mobile and the Chickasaw. He invited the neighbors, who were 
our allies, and particularly the Choctaws, to avenge this outrage. 
He furnished arms and ammunition to all the houses of the city 
and to the plantations. He caused two ships, that is, the Due 
de Bourbon and the Alexandre, to ascend the river as far as the 
Tonicas. These ships were like two good fortresses against the 



252 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



insults of the Indians, and in case of attack, two certain asylums 
for the women and children. He caused a ditch to be dug en- 
tirely around the city, and placed guard houses at the four ex- 
tremities. He organized for its defence many companies of city 
militia, who mounted guard during the whole night. As there 
was more to fear in the grants and in the plantations than in the 
city, he fortified them with the most care. He had good forts 
erected at Chapitoulas, Cannes, Brules, Altemands, Bayagoulas, 
and Pointe Coupee. 

" At first, our governor, listening only to the dictates of his 
own courage, adopted the design of placing himself at the head 
of the troops, but it was represented to him that he ought not to 
quit New Orleans, where his presence was absolutely necessary ; 
that there was danger of the Choctaws determining to fall upon 
the city, if it should be deprived of its troops ; and the negroes, 
to free themselves from slavery, might join them, as some had 

done with the Natchez. Moreover, he could feel per- 
1730 fectly easy with regard to the conduct of the troops, as 
Jan. the Chevalier De Loubois, with whose experience and 

bravery he was well acquainted, had been appointed to 
command them. Whilst our little army was repairing to the 
Tonicas, seven hundred Choctaws, mustered and conducted by 
M. Le Sner, marched towards the Natchez. We were informed, 
by a party of these people, that the Natchez were not at all on 
their guard, but passed all their nights in dancing. The Choc- 
taws took them, therefore, by surprise, and made a descent on 
them, the 27th of January, at the break of day. In less than 
three hours they had delivered fifty-nine persons, both women 
and children, with the tailor and carpenter, and one hundred and 
six negroes or negro women, with their children. They made 

eighteen of the Natchez prisoners, and took sixty scalps. 

1730 They would have taken more, if they had not been in- 

Jan. 27 tent on freeing the slaves, as they had been directed. 

They had but two men killed and seven or eight 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 253 

wounded. They encamped, with their prizes, at the grant of St. 
Catherine, in a mere park enclosed with stakes. The victory 
would have been complete, if they had waited the arrival of the 
French army, as had been agreed upon by their deputies.* 

" The Natchez, seeing themselves attacked by the formidable 
Choctaws, regarded their defeat as certain, and shutting them- 
selves up in two forts, passed the following nights in dancing 
their death dance. In their speeches, we heard them reproach- 
ing the Choctaws for their perfidy in declaring in favor of the 
French, contrary to the pledge they had given, to unite with them 
for our destruction. Three days before this action, the Sieur Mes- 
plex landed at the Natchez with five other Frenchmen; they had 
volunteered to M. De Loubois, to carry to the Indians negotia- 
tions for peace, that they might be able, under this pretext, to 
gain information with regard to their force and their present sit- 
uation. But, in descending from their boat, they encountered a 
party who, without giving them time to speak, killed three of 
their men and made the other three prisoners. The next day 
they sent one of these prisoners with a letter, in which they de- 
manded, as hostages, the Sieur Broutin, who had formerly been 
commander among them, and the Chief of the Tonicas. Besides, 
they demanded, as the ransom for the women, children and 
slaves, two hundred guns, two hundred barrels of powder, two 
thousand gun flints, two hundred knives, two hundred hatchets, 
two hundred pickaxes, five hogsheads of brandy, twenty casks of 
wine, twenty barrels of vermilion, two hundred shirts, twenty 
pieces of limbourg, twenty pieces of cloth, twenty coats with lace 
on the seams, twenty hats bordered with plumes, and a hundred 
coats of a plainer kind. Their design was to massacre the 
French, who should bring these goods. On the very same day, 

* Monette, Martin, and other modern authors, state that Le Seur advanced from the 
Tombigby, with six hundred warriors, and near Pearl river increased his force to twelve 
hundred. Arriving; near Natchez, and learning the unguarded condition of the Indians 
of that place, the Choctaws fell upon them, in spite of the entreaties of Le Seur, who 
urged them to await the arrival of the French army. 



254 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



with every refinement in cruelty, they burned the Sieur Mesplex 
and his companion. 

" On the 8th February, the French, with the Tonicas and 
some other small tribes from the lower end of the Mississippi, ar- 
rived at the Natchez, and seized their temple, dedicated to the 
Sun. The impatience and impracticability of the Choctaws, who, 
like all these Indians, are capable of striking only one blow and 
then disperse — the small number of French soldiers, who found 
themselves worn down by fatigues — the want of provi- 
1730 sions, which the Indians stole from the French — the fail- 
Feb. ure of ammunition, with which they were not able to 
satisfy the Choctaws, who wasted one part of it, and 
placed the other in reserve to be used in hunting — the resistance 
of the Natchez, who were well fortified, and who fought in des- 
peration — all these things decided us to listen to the propositions 
which the besieged made, after the trenches had been opened for 
seven days. They threatened, if we persisted in the siege, to 
burn those of the French who remained ; while, on the other 
hand, they offered to restore them, if we would withdraw our 
seven pieces of cannon. These, in reality, for want of a good gun- 
ner, and under present circumstances, were scarcely in a fit state 
to give them any fear. 

" These propositions were accepted, and fulfilled on both 
sides. On the '^5th of February, the besieged faithfully re- 
stored all that they had promised, while the besiegers retired with 
their cannon to a small fort which they had hastily built on the 
Escore, near the river, for the purpose of always keeping the 
Natchez in check, and ensuring a passage to the voyagers. Gov- 
ernor Perrier gave the command of it to M. D'Artaguette, as an 
acknowledgement of the intrepidity with which, during the siege, 
he had exposed himself to the greatest dangers, and everywhere 
braved death. 

" Before the Choctaws had determined to fall upon the 
Natchez, they had been to them to convey the calumet, and were 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT NATCHEZ. 255 

received in a very novel manner. They found them and their 
horses adorned with chasubles and drapery of the altars ; many 
wore patterns about their necks, and drank, and gave to 
drink, of brandy in the chalices and pyx. And the 1730 
Choctaws themselves, when they had gained these arti- Feb. 
cles by pillaging our enemies, renewed this profane sac- 
rilege, by making the same use of our ornaments and sacred ves- 
sels in their dances and sports. We were never able to recover 
more than a small portion of them."* 

Here Father Le Petit discontinues his detail of the Natchez 
war, and ends his letter with some remarks upon the character of 
the Illinois and several other tribes of Indians. He appears to 
have deemed it a very great outrage that the Natchez thus pros- 
tituted their holy vessels and priestly robes, yet he announces 
that the French army "arrived at the Natchez and seized their 
temple, dedicated to the Sun," which they, no doubt, also de- 
stroyed. The religion of tbe Natchez was as sacred to the 
Natchez, as the religion of the Roman Catholics was to the good 
Father Le Petit. 

The Natchez Chiefs proposed to surrender more than two 
hundred prisoners, if the French commander would remove his 
artillery and withdraw his forces, or else all the prisoners would 
be consumed by fire. Loubois, to save the lives of these misera- 
ble captives, consented, yet with the secret intention of wreaking 
his vengeance upon the Indians as soon as the prisoners were 
in his possession. But he was sadly disappointed, for 
the Indians, suspecting treachery on his part, took ad- 1730 
vantage of the suspension of hostilities, and one night Feb. 25 
evacuated the fort, and succeeded in gaining the oppo- 
site shore of the Mississippi with all their women and children. 
The prisoners were found in the fort, agreeably to the treaty. 

* "The Early Jesuit Missions in North America," compiled, and translated from the 
letters of the French Jesuits, with notes by the Rev. Ingrabam Kip, M. A., Correspond- 
ing Member of the New York Historical Society. New York: 1846. See Part 2, pp. 
267-300. 



256 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Loubois was astonished at the dexterous manoeuvre, but he saw 
the folly of pursuing the foe, who had now secreted themselves in 
the vast swamps. He began the erection of a terraced fort upon 
the verge of the bluff, and leaving there a garrison of one hun- 
dred and twenty men, returned with his troops and the rescued 
prisoners to New Orleans. 

The largest portion of the Natchez, conducted by the Great 
Sun, established themselves " upon the lower Washita, on the 
point between the Little River and the Washita, just below the 
mouth of Little River, where the Washita assumes the name 
of Black river."* Here the Natchez placed about four hundred 
acres of land in a state of defence by the erection of large and 
small mounds and extensive embankments. Other portions of 
this tribe sought an asylum among the Chickasaws, while others 
wandered still further east, and took up their abode upon a por- 
tion of the territory now embraced in Talladega county, Alabama. 
The English traders of Carolina, it is said, rejoiced in the destruc- 
tion of the French, and many of them, then residing among the 
Chickasaws, urged those people and the refugee Natchez to en- 
gage in a vigorous warfare, and not only to defend their soil but 
to exterminate the French. In the meantime Governor Perrier 
made preparations to follow up the Natchez upon the Washita, 
but his exertions were to some extent defeated by a serious negro 
insurrection, which occurred upon the plantations in the vicinity 

of New Orleans. 
1731 However, upon the 10th of August one of the com- 

Aug. 10 pany's ships arrived at the Balize with some troops 

and supplies. Although mortified that the reinforce- 
ment was so small, Perrier added them to the colonial troops, 

and, procuring a Choctaw force at Mobile, left New Or- 
Nov. 15 leans with an army of six hundred and fifty, which was 

increased on the way to one thousand by Indian allies. 
Reaching the mouth of Black river, they at length came in sight 

* Monette's History of the Valley of the Mississippi, vol. 1, p. 267. 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE IN NATCHEZ. 257 

of the enemy's stronghold. The troops were disem- 
barked, the fort invested, and for three days the besieged 1732 
made a spirited resistance, when they made propositions Jan. 20 
which Perrier rejected. At length the Indians consented 
to surrender the Great Sun and one War Chief, which the Gov- 
ernor refused. They then consented to surrender sixty-five men 
and about two hundred women and children, upon conditions that 
their lives should be spared. Perrier once more opened his artil- 
lery upon them, but a heavy rain, which continued until nighty 
silenced his batteries. When night set in the Natchez began to 
escape from their defences, and make their way up the river 
in the midst of a tempest of wind and rain. The Indian allies 
went in pursuit, and returned with one hundred prisoners. The 
next day Perrier demolished the outworks of the fort and 
began his voyage to New Orleans, where he arrived in 1732 
due time with four hundred and twenty-seven captives Feb. 5 
of the Natchez tribe. At the head of them were the 
Great Sun and several principal Chiefs. Soon afterwards they 
were all shipped to St. Domingo and sold as slaves.* Those of 
the Natchez who escaped during the stormy night rallied again 
and collected in one body near the French settlements on Red 
river. They then marched and attacked the post in a most 
furious manner, but St. Denys, the commandant, an intrepid offi- 
cer, repelled them with the loss of ninety-two braves, including 
all their Chiefs. The remnant escaped by flight. This was the 
closing scene in the Natchez drama, and ended the existence of 
these brave Indians as a distinct tribe.* 

* "The French army re-embarked and carried the Natchez as slaves to New Orleans, 
where they were put in prison ; but afterwards, to avoid the infection, the women and 
the children were disposed of on the King's plantation and elsewhere. Among these 
women was the Female Sun, called the Stung Arm, who then told me all she had done 
in order to save the French. Some time after, these slaves were embarked to St. 
Domingo, in order to root out that nation in the colony; * * * and thus that nation, 
the most conspicuous in the colony and the most useful to the French, was destroyed." 
— Du Pratz, p. 95. 

*In relation to the massacre at Natchez, and the final defeat of those Indians, I have 
carefully consulted the following authorities: Du Pratz's Louisiana; London, 1774. 
Bossu's Travels in Louisiana, vol. 1 ; London, 1771. Memoire Historique et Politique sur 
la Louisiane, par M. de Vergennes, Ministre de Louis XVI. ; a Paris, 1802. Voyage a la 
Louisiane, par B*** D ; Paris, 1802. Memoires Historique sur la Louisiane, par M. Du- 
mont; a Paris, 1753. Kip's Early Jesuit Adssions ; New York. 1846. Gayarre's Histoire 
de la Louisiane. Martin's History of Louisiana; New Orleans, 1827. Stoddart's Sketches, 
Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana; Piladelphia, 1812. Monette's History of the 
Valley of the Mississippi; New York, 1846. 

17 



CHAPTER XIL 

The English in Georgia. 

We have shown that South Carolina had been established as 
a colony for some years, that its seat of government was at 
Charleston, and that its inhabitants, in endeavoring to extend 
the English trade to all the Western Indian nations as far as the 
Mississippi river, had many conflicts and difficulties with the 
French, who occupied the territory of Alabama. They were 
also constantly opposed by the Spaniards of the Floridas. In 
order to interpose a barrier to these foes, as well as to protect 
the citizens from the attacks of the Creek Indians, the King of 
England and the British Parliament listened to a proposition of 
a great philanthropist, to plant a colony upon the western bank 
of the Savannah river. His motives, purely noble and disin- 
terested, originated in a desire to ameliorate the condition of 
many unfortunate people in England. To carry out his plans of 
humanity, he was willing that the King should blend with them 
politic measures for the advancement of this, his most Southern 
province, and it was determined that "silk, wine and oil should 
be cultivated most abundantly." 

James Oglethorpe, a descendant of one of the oldest and 
most influential families of England, was born on the 22d of De- 
cember, 1688, and after graduating at Oxford University, was 
ommissioned an ensign in the British army. In 1713, he ac- 
companied the Earl of Petersburg, then Ambassador to the Ital- 
ian States, in the capacity of aide-de-camp. Returning to England, 
a year afterwards, he was promoted to a captaincy in the first 
troop of Queen Anne's Guard, and was soon an adjutant-general 

258 



THE ENGLISH IN" GEORGIA. 259 

of the Queen's forces. He was next transferred to the post of 
aide-de-camp to Prince Eugene, the first general of the age, and 
was with him amid all the sanguinary battles fought between 
the Austrians and the Turks, upon the frontiers of Hungary. 
When these wars were over, Oglethorpe returned to England, 
and in 1722 was elected a member of the British Parliament, 
where he soon became useful and influential. 

Oglethorpe caused an investigation to be made into the state 
of the English prisons, and it was ascertained that they groaned 
with thousands of poor wretches who had been imprisoned many 
years for debt. That the kingdom of England also contained 
thousands, "descended of good families," who were in destitute 
circumstances, and that hundreds of German exiles, driven from 
their native country by religious persecution, were starving 
among them. He brought this unhappy state of things 
before the King and Parliament, and, by his zeal and 1732 
ability, succeeded in procuring a charter for the coloni- June 
zation of Georgia, the inhabitants of which were to con- 
sist of these distressed people. He resolved, himself, to embark 
with the first emigrants. They consisted of thirty families, num- 
bering, collectively, one hundred and twenty-five souls. Enter- 
ing the sea from the Thames, the vessel, after a long 
voyage across the Atlantic, furled its sails in the har- 1733 
bor of Charleston. Oglethorpe landed, and was received Jan. 
with attention by the Governor and Council of South 
Carolina. The King's pilot carried the ship into Port Royal, 
while small vessels were furnished to convey the emigrants to 
the Savannah river. Leaving his people at Beaufort, 
and accompanied by Colonel Bull of South Carolina, Jan. 20 
Oglethorpe ascended the Savannah, and launched his 
boat at the splendid bluff, which now forms the site of the com- 
mercial emporium of Georgia. At the northern end of this bluff, 
the great philanthropist came upon an Indian town, called 
Yamacraw, the chief of which was named Tomochichi, and where 




^%0\ 



© 

■- 

© 



O CD 
® 5 

0.2 

c€ © 

^* 
5 O 

H) ^ 

^^ 

13 O 

© o 

© CS 
CO >s 

1-1 © 
o ^ 



o g 

2 £• 

o ^ 
^ . 

eg. 

j-, CD 

.2 

.2 

© 
pq 



THE ENGLISH IN GEORGIA. 261 

Musgrove, a Carolina trader, married to a half-breed named 
Mary, had established himself.* 

This Indian, Mary, was born in the year 1700, at the town 
of Coweta, upon the Chattahoochie, in Alabama. Her Indian 
name was Consaponaheeso, and by maternal descent she was 
one of the Queens of the Muscogee nation, and the Indians 
conceded to her the title of x^rincess. When ten years of 
age, her father took her to Ponpon, in South Carolina, where 
she was baptized, educated and instructed in Christianity. 
Afterwards, she fled back to her forest home, laid aside the 
civilization of the British, and assumed the ease and freedom 
of the happy Muscogee. In 1716, Colonel John Musgrove 
was despatched to the Chattahoochie, by the government of 
Carolina, to form a treaty of alliance with the Creeks, with 
whom that colony had been at war. It was there stipulated that 
the Creeks were to remain the free occupants of all the lands 
east, as far as the Savannah river. The son of the British nego- 
tiator, John Musgrove, had accompanied his father to Coweta, 
and falling in love with the Princess Mary, made her his wife. 
After remaining in the nation several years, and after 
the birth of their only child, they removed to South Car- 1723 
olina. There residing seven years in much happiness, 
they afterwards established themselves upon Yamacraw Bluff, at 
the head of an extensive trading house, and where Ogle- 
thorpe found them, as we have just observed. By his 1732 
alliance with this remarkable woman, who was well June 
versed in the Indian and English languages, Musgrove 
obtained considerable influence over the natives, and became ex- 
ceedingly wealthy. Mary was, afterwards, the warm friend of 
Oglethorpe, and several times saved the early colonists of Georgia 
from savage butchery. 

Oglethorpe returned to Beaufort, and, collecting his colo- 



* Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. 58-76-89. Georgia Historical Collections, vol. 
l,pp. 9-11-12-167-174. McCall's History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. 9-32. 



262 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



nists, sailed up the Savannah, and landing at the bluff, where now 
stands the beautiful city, immediately disembarked and pitched 
four large tents. Here the emigrants spent their first 
1 733 night in Georgia. The Indians received them with hos- 
Feb. 12 pitality, and gave pledges of future friendship. Ogle- 
thorpe marked out the streets and squares ; all was 
bustle and activity, and it was not long before Savannah assumed 
something of the appearance of a town. A small fort was estab- 
lished at the edge of the bluff, as a place of refuge, and 
1733 some artillery was mounted upon it. Fort Argyle was 
Feb. 9 built at the narrow passage of the Ogeechee, above the 
mouth of Canouchee, to defend the inhabitants against 
inland invasion from the Spaniards of St. Augustine. 

Soon after his arrival, Oglethorpe despatched runners to the 
Lower Creek nation, and having assembled eighteen Chiefs and 
their attendants, at Savannah, he formed a treaty with them, in 
which they relinquished to the British government the 
May 21 lands between the Savannah and the Altamaha. It was 
also stipulated, among other things, that English traders 
should be allowed to establish themselves in any part of the Creek 
nation. Their goods were to be sold at fixed rates — thus, a 
white blanket was set down at five buckskins, a gun at ten, a 
hatchet at three doeskins, a knife at one, and so on. Returning 
to Charleston, after this important treaty, a dinner was given to 
the philanthropist by the legislative bodies, which he returned 
by a ball and supper to the ladies. 

A company of forty Jews, acting under the broad principles 
of the charter, which gave freedom to all religions, save that of 
the Romish Church, landed at Savannah. Much dissatisfaction, 
both in England and America, arose in consequence of the ap- 
pearance of these Israelites, and Oglethorpe was solicited to 
send them immediately from the colony. He, however, gen- 
erously permitted them to remain, which was one of 
1734 the wisest acts of his life, for they and their de- 



THE ENGLISH IN GEORGIA. 263 

scendants were highly instrumental in developing the com- 
mercial resources of this wild land. There also came, in the 
months of September and October, three hundred and forty -one 
Salzburgers, driven from Germany for their religious opinions, 
and Oglethorpe settled them above Savannah, on the river of that 
name, where they formed a town and named it Ebenezer. These 
people were succeeded by many Highlanders, from Scot- 
land, who, being brave and hardy, were located upon the 1736 
banks of the Altamaha, the most exposed part of the Jan. 
colony, where they founded the town of Darien. 

In the meantime Oglethorpe had made a voyage to England, 
taking with him Tomochichi, the Chief of Yamacraw. Senanky, 
his wife, Tooanhouie, their nephew, Hillipili, the War Captain, 
and five Chiefs of the Cherokees. He was most graciously re- 
ceived by the ruling powers of England and her citizens ; and his 
noble and disinterested exertions were universally approved. In 
due time he returned to Georgia, with his Indian friends. 

The lands, between Ebenezer and Briar Creek, belonged to 
the Uchees, who refused to dispose of them. But to secure this 
part of the country, two forts were built on the South Carolina 
side of the river, which answered the purpose. Establishments 
were also made at Silver Bluff, and at the falls of the Savannah, 
where the town of Augusta was laid out, warehouses erected, and 
a garrison thrown into a small fort. Augusta immediately be- 
came a general resort for Indian traders, where they purchased 
annually about two thousand pack-horse loads of peltry. Six 
hundred' white persons were engaged in this trade, including 
townsmen, pack-horse men and servants. Boats, each capable of 
carrying down the river a large quantity of peltry, were built, 
and four or five voyages were annually made with them to 
Charleston. A trading highway was opened to Savannah on 
which few of the creeks were bridged, or marshes and swamps 
causewayed. 

He who became the wealthiest and most conspicuous of all 



264 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



these Indian traders, was George Galphin, a native of Ireland. 
When quite a young man, he established himself upon the site of 
Da Soto's ancient Cutifachiqui, where that remarkable adventurer 
first discovered the Savannah river, in 1540. Upon the site of 
this old Indian town, on the east bluff of the Savannah, 

1737 in Barnwell District, South Carolina, now called Silver 
Bluff, and at present the property of Gov. Hammond, 
young Galphin first begun to trade with the Creek Indians. Al- 
though he made Silver Bluff his headquarters, he had trading 
houses in Savannah and Augusta. He was a man of fine address, 
great sense, commanding person, untiring energy and unsurpassed 
bravery. His power was felt and his influence extended even to 
the banks of the Mississippi. Among the Upper and Lower 
Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws, he sent forth nu- 
merous pack-horse men, with various merchandise, who brought 
back to Georgia almost countless skins and furs, kegs of bears' oil, 
hickory-nut oil, snake root and medicinal barks,' which 

1740 he shipped to England. He often went himself into 
to these nations, fearlessly trading in the immediate 

1775 vicinity of the French Fort Toulouse, upon the Coosa. 
Commercial policy and an amorous disposition led him 
to form connections with several females, who were called his 
wives, and from whom descended many intelligent and influ- 
ential persons, now inhabiting Georgia, Alabama and the Ar- 
kansas Territory. 

Among the passengers who came out with Oglethorpe, upon 
his return to America, were the celebrated Methodists, John and 
Charles Wesley, who eat at the table of the philanthropist, and 
who received from him much kindness and courtesy, during a 
stormy and dangerous voyage. Their object was to make reli- 
gious impressions upon the minds of the Indians. Among the 
colonists, with whom they resided many years, they became not 
only unpopular, but very obnoxious. They finally returned to 
England much mortified and much disappointed. Stevens thus 



THE ENGLISH IN GEORGIA. 265 

speaks of these talented and pious men : " The proceedings of 
the Wesleys in Georgia have, indeed, been violently assailed ; 
and even writers, who can offer no excuse for their ignorance, 
accuse them of immorality and blame. But it was not so. They 
were men delicately brought up, of fine sensibilities, of cultivated 
minds, of deep learning and of ardent devotion. * * Accom- 
plished, though reserved in their manners — associating from 
childhood with refined and learned society — they could not con- 
form at once to the tastes and habits of communities like those 
of Savannah and Frederica, but were rather repelled by the gross 
immoralities and offensive manners of the early colonists. Their 
error was, especially in John, of holding too high ideas of eccle- 
siastical authority, and the being too rigid and repulsive in their 
pastoral duties. They stood firmly on little things, as well as on 
great, and held the reins of church discipline with a tightness 
unsuitable to an infant colony. But no other blame can attach 
to them."* 

The colony of Georgia had prospered under the wise guidance 
of Oglethorpe. Five principal towns had been surveyed and set- 
tled — Augusta, Ebenezer, Savannah, New Inverness and Fred- 
erica — besides forts and villages. More than one thousand 
persons had been sent to Georgia, on the account of the trustees 
alone, while hundreds of other emigrants came at their own 
expense. The colonists being from different nations, were 
various in their characters and religious creeds. Vaudois, Swiss, 
Piedmontese, Germans, Moravians, Jews from Portugal, High- 
landers, English and Italians were thrown together in this fine 
climate, new world and new home. With all these people, in 
their various costumes, were often intermingled different tribes 
of Indians. What a field for a painter the colony presented ! 
What materials for a scribbling tourist! 

Having thus colonized the northern, southern and eastern 
borders, Oglethorpe returned to England, and presented to 

♦Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. 339-349. 



266 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



his majesty and the Parliament an account of the affairs of 
Georgia. He asked, at their hands, a sufficient supply of 
military stores and men to defend the province from an invasion 
contemplated by the Spaniards of the Floridas. The colonization 
of Georgia had given great offence to Spain. That power claimed 
the whole of Georgia, but made no serious opposition so long as 
the English settlements were confined to Savannah river, but 
when Oglethorpe planted his Highlanders upon the Altamaha, 
the Spaniards resolved upon their expulsion. A long succession 
of border wars and difficulties ensued, which, having but little 
connection with the history of Alabama, are omitted. It should 
be observed, however, that Oglethorpe succeeded in his applica- 
tions to the Court, and was appointed General of the forces in 
South Carolina and Georgia. In September he was made Colonel 

of a regiment to be employed in defence of the colony r 

1738 which he had so successfully established. He returned 

Sept. 19 to Georgia with his army, and disembarked his artillery 

at St. Simond's Island. 
No sooner had Gen. Oglethorpe placed his feet upon Georgia 
soil than he saw the necessity of renewing his treaty with the 
Creeks, and of cultivating their alliance, for fear that they might 
form a dangerous connection with the Spaniards. He went im- 
mediately to Savannah, where he had an interview with the 
Chiefs of four towns, and succeeded in strengthening their fidelity 
to the English. But in order to accomplish a complete alliance 
with the brave Creeks he resolved to attend the great council of 
that nation, which was to assemble at Coweta in July and Au- 
gust following. It was a long and perilous journey. Coweta lay 
upon the west bank of the Chattahoochie river, three miles below 
the falls, at which the city of Columbus is now situated, and 
within the limits of the present Russell county, Alabama. The 
distance from Savannah to that point was not only considerable, 
but lay over extensive pine forests, dismal swamps and rapid and 
dangerous rivers, while the solitary trail was not infrequently 



THE ENGLISH IN GEORGIA. 267 



beset by Indian banditti. However, when the time arrived he, 
who had so courageously fought under Prince Eugene upon the 
frontiers of Hungary, was not to be dismayed by obstacles like 
these. With only a few attendants, and some pack-horses laden 
with goods, designed as presents for the Indians, Oglethorpe set 
off on his journey. He crossed the Ogechee, Oconee, Ockmulgee 
and the Flint, carrying over his effects in canoes, and sometimes 
upon rafts. Finally he halted upon the banks of the Chattahoo- 
chie. He had camped out every night in the woods, exposed by 
day to the heat of the sun, and often to pelting showers of rain. 
Crossing the Chattahoochie, and ascending its western bank, the 
great and good Oglethorpe soon arrived in the town of 
Coweta, upon Alabama soil. Forty miles in advance the 1739 
Indians had met him, and at various points upon the Aug. 1 
route had deposited provisions for his subsistence. They 
now received him in their capital with every demonstration of joy. 
Making Coweta his headquarters, Oglethorpe occasionally 
rode to some of the towns in the vicinity, the most prominent 
of which were Uchee, Cusseta and Ositche, conversing with 
these people through his interpreters, and engaging their 
affections by his liberality and irresistible address. He drank 
with them the black drink — smoked with them the pipe of peace 
— and lounged with them upon the cool cane sofas with which 
their ample public houses were furnished. In the meantime, the 
Chiefs and warriors from the towns of Coweta, Cusseta, Ufaula, 
Hitchitee, Ositche, Chehaw, Oconee, and Swagles, assembled in 
the great square. After many ceremonious prelimina- 
ries, they made a treaty of Alliance with Oglethorpe. It 1739 
was declared that all the lands between the Savannah Aug. 21 
and the St. John's, and from the latter to the Apalache 
bay, and thence to the mountains, by ancient right, did belong to 
the Creek nation. That neither the Spaniards nor any other 
people, excepting the trustees of the colony of Georgia, should 
settle them. That the grant on the Savannah river, as far as the 



268 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

river Ogeechee, ani those along the seacoast, as far as the St. 
John's river, and as high as the tide flowed, with the islands pre- 
viously granted to the English at Savannah, should now be con- 
firmed. The Chiefs again reserved all the lands from Pipe 
Maker's Bluff to the Savannah, with the Islands of St. Catherine, 
Osabow and Sapelo. 

After signing the treaty, Oglethorpe left with the Chiefs, for 
their protection against English encroachments, the following 
singular paper : 

By James, Oglethorpe, Esquire, General and Commander -in- Chief 
of all His Majesty'* s forces in South Carolina and Georgia, 
etc.: To all His Majesty' 's subjects to whom these presents 
shall come, greeting — 

Know ye, That you are not to take up or settle any land be- 
yond the above limit, settled by me with the Creek nation, at 
their estates held on Saturday, the eleventh day of August, Anno 
Domini, 1739, as you shall, through me, at your peril, answer. 

Given under my hand and seal, at the Coweta town, this, the 
21st day of August, Anno Domini, 1739. 

James Oglethorpe. 

We desire it to be borne in mind, by the reader, that none of 
the Upper Creek Indians, who lived upon the Alabama, Coosa, 
and Tallapoosa rivers, were present at this treaty. They never 
recognized any of the treaties made in the Lower Creek nation 
with the Georgians. At this time, they were under the 
1735 influence of the French ; afterwards, they placed them- 
selves under the wing of the Spaniards. Although the 
English built a fort and occupied it for many years, with a gar- 
rison, in the town of Ocfuske, on the east side of the Tallapoosa, 
river, within forty miles of the French fortress, Toulouse, and 
partially succeeded in alienating some of the Upper Creeks from 
the French, yet the great body of these people forever remained 
the implacable enemies of the Georgians. 



THE ENGLISH IN GEORGIA. 269 

Oglethorpe departed from Coweta, and after a dis- 
agreeable journey, reached Savannah. He there as- 1739 
sisted in the funeral ceremonies of his friend, Tomochi- Sept. 22 
chi, who died at Yamacraw Bluff. The body, brought 
down the river in a canoe, was received by Oglethorpe, Oct. 5 
and was interred in Percival Square, amid the sound 
of minute guns from the battery.* 

* Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. h:)-158. McCall's History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. 
32-142. Georgia Historical Collections, vol. 1, pp. 18-22-2C2-182. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Jesuit Priests or Missionaries. 

Since the revolt of the French garrison at Foit Toulouse, 
upon the Coosa, things at that place had remained in rather an 
undisturbed condition. It is true that the English had given 
them much uneasiness, and had occasionally cut off some of the 
couriers de bois. In order to cultivate a better understanding 
with the Lower Creeks, a Jesuit priest, Father de Guyenne, went 
to Coweta, upon the Chattahoochie, and succeeded in building 
two cabins, one at that place, and the other at Cusseta. His ob- 
ject was to learn the language of the Indians, and to in- 
1735 struct them in the Christian religion; but the English 
of the province of Georgia prevailed upon the Indians to 
burn up these houses. The zealous father was therefore forced 
to retreat to Fort Toulouse. Father Moran had been stationed, 
some years, at Fort Toulouse, and used to live occasionally at 
Coosawda. 

" The impossibility, however, of exercising his ministry 
there, for the benefit of either the Indians or the French, has in- 
duced the superior to recall him, that he might be entrusted with 
the direction of the nuns, and of the royal hospital, which is now 
under our charge. The English trade, as well as the French, 
among the Alabama Indians. You can easily imagine what an 
obstacle this presents to the progress of religion, for the English 
are always ready to excite controversy."* Among the Choctaws 
there were several missionaries, besides those stationed at Mo- 
bile. " The reverend Father Baudouin, the actual superior- 

* Letter of Father Vivier, of the company of Jesus, to a father of the same company. 

270 



JESUIT PRIESTS OR MISSIONARIES. 271 

general of the mission, resided eighteen years among the Choc- 
taws. When he was on the point of reaping some fruits from 
his labors, the troubles which the English excited in that nation, 
and the peril to which he was evidently exposed, obliged Father 
Vitri, then superior-general, in concert with the governor, to re- 
call him to New Orleans."* 

While the English of Carolina and Georgia engaged in various 
schemes to rid the territory of the present States of Alabama and 
Mississippi of its French population, by unscrupulous intrigues 
with the natives, the French were but little behind them in 
similar enterprises. The Jesuits were adventurous and brave, 
and men of captivating address, and obtained much influence 
over the leading Chiefs, wherever they appeared. An account of 
the artful intrigues of a German Jesuit, named Christian Priber, 
as related, in his singular style, by James Adair, an old British 
trader, who lived forty years among the Cherokees and Chicka- 
saws, will now be introduced. 

"In the year 1736, the French sent into South Carolina one 
Priber, a gentleman of a curious and speculative temper. He 
was to transmit them a full account of that country, and proceed 
to the Cherokee nation, in order to seduce them from the British 
to the French interest. He went, and although he was adorned 
with every qualification that constitutes the gentleman, 
soon after he arrived at the upper towns of this moun- 1736 
tainous country, he changed his clothes and everything 
he brought with him, and by that means made friends with the 
head warriors of the Big Tellico River. More effectually to an- 
swer the design of his commission, he ate, drank, slept, danced, 
dressed and painted himself with the Indians, so that it was not 
easy to distinguish him from the natives ; he married, also, with 
them. Being endowed with a strong understanding and reten- 
tive memory, he soon learned their dialect, and by gradual ad- 
vances, impressed them with a very ill opinion of the English, 

* Letter of Father Vivier, of the company of Jesus, to a father of the same company. 



'27'J HISTORY OF ALAI'.AIMA, 



representing thetn as a fraudulent, avaricious and encroaching 
people. He, at the same time, Inflated the artless savages with a 
prodigious high opinion of their own Importance In the American 
scale of power, on aocount of the situation of their country, their 
martial disposition and the great number of their warriors, which 
would baffle all the efforts of the ambitious and Ill-designing 
British colonists. 

« Having thus Infected them i>.y iiis smooth, deluding art, be 
easily Formed them Into a nominal republican government. He 
orowned their old Archi-Magus, emperor, after a pleasing new 
savage form, and Invented a variety of high sounding i it les for all 
the members of his imperial majesty's red court and the 
I7.'!!> great offloers of state. M<- himself received the honora- 
ble title of bis Imperial majesty's principal seoretary of 

State, and as such ho subscribed himself, in ail the loiters be 

wrote to our government, and Lived In open defiance of them. 

Tins seemed to be of 80 dangerous a, tendency as to induce South 

Carolina to send up a commissioner, Colonel Fox, to demand bim 

as an enemy to public repose, lie took him into custody in the 

great square of their stale house. When be had almost, concluded 
his oration on the oooasion, one of the warriors rose up and bade 

him forbear, as the man he intended to enslave \v;is made a great 
beloved man, and had become one of their people. Though it was 

reckoned our Agent's strength was far greater in his arms than In 

his head, he readily desisted, for, as it is too hard to Struggle 
With the Tope in Rome, a stranger could not miss to lind it 

equally difficult to enter abruptly Into a new emperor's court, ami 

there seize his prime miniBter by a, foreign authority, especially 
u hen be could not support any charge of guilt against him. The 
WarriOl told him that the vr(\ people well knew the honesty of 

the secretary's heart would never allow him t<> tell a lie, ami the 
seoretary urged that he was a, foreigner, without, owing any 

allegiance to Great Britain. That he only travelled through 
sonic places ol their country, in a peaceable manner, paying 



JESUIT PRIESTS OR MISSIONARIES. 273 

for everything he had of them. That in compliance with 
the request of the kind French, as well as from his own 
tender feelings for the poverty and insecure state of the 
Cherokees, he came a great way, and lived with them as a 
brother, only to preserve their liberties, by opening a water com- 
munication between them and New Orleans. That the distance 
of the two places from each other proved his motive to be the 
love of doing good, especially as he was to go there and bring up 
a sufficient number of Frenchmen, of proper skill, to instruct 
them in the art of making gunpowder, the materials of which, he 
affirmed, their lands abounded with. He concluded his artful 
speech by urging that the tyrannical design of the English com- 
missioner towards him appeared plainly to be levelled against 
them, because, as he was not accused of having done any ill to 
the English, hefore he came to the Cherokees, his crime must 
consist in loving the Cherokees. * * * An old war-leader 
repeated to the commissioner the essential part of the speech, 
and added more of his own similar thereto. * * * The Eng- 
lish beloved man had the honor of receiving his leave of absence 
and a sufficient passport of safe conduct, from the imperial red 
court, by a verbal order of the secretary of state, who was so 
polite as to wish him well home, and ordered a convoy 
of his own life-guards, who conducted him a consider- 1741 
able way, and he got home in safety. 

"From the above, it is evident that the monopolizing spirit 
of the French had planned their dangerous line of circumvalla- 
tion, respecting our envied colonies, as early as the before men- 
tioned period. The choice of the man, also, bespoke their judg- 
ment. Though the philosophic secretary was an utter stranger 
to the wild and mountainous Cherokee nation, yet his sagacity 
readily directed him to choose a proper place, an old favorite 
religious man, for the new red empire, which he formed by slow 
and sure degree, to the great danger of our Southern colonies. 
But the empire received a very great shock, in an acci- 

18 



•< I 



111 I'OII I OK AI.AMAMA 



i / 1 1 ii< mi i ii.it i.i i. ii tin • . m i .11 y. -in ii 1 1 wnn on 'in point 

..i 1 1 him mi-. .. i.u ;. i < .id i i .ih i.i [Mil it! 1 1 « by I I" 

.!■ <| ii i ill'- it <.l lln M •< ( h'.-l.i • ..ml III. Wi I' in MimhIm 

I).).! Indian 

•In II. i Dllli y « 1 1 ..I Hi. 1 1 nil imij.iii.iI <i., I'mI,.! .1 ..II |<,i 

M'.i.ii' | ..i i. H «i by n i « • I i" i ol i • III pro< ' - «i« id i-v land 

i I,. , ii>. n. i vif'.ii.i' |.. ,ii <.i ih . 'i .iii. i|..... . i rlvii mid Arriving 

..I I ()()] .1, ,1. Ill, |.,.|,M ,1 I I,. M .11 1,1-1,1 '| |,< I I ...|,| -,| I |,< 

iii i ■ hi. ... iii ■■ i .. ■ i ii - < iii i in i « i ..ii - •! i in Inhabit unl 

<.| III, ,1,1,".,.,,, I, ||{ |, ||( •; <»l III MM M ' .11 II <l l.ll.'.l .1IM'.M|- lln 

( i km | mid "i in;-. I"- ■ « mi |..niMiy 'liny thill tooli him 

III! ■.Iinly, wil 1 1 .i I.i i (• « 1, 1 1 in Ih mI i ii. i mm . i i|.i 1 1 .. I ,i.l In mi 

dd i M in I- m >ii i Ii . ii, «.,.,, -I., 1 1,. •-..- . , i.-.i . -mi, ,ii i. .1 hini 

h. ,i |,ln. . '.I < i.mIIm. mm mI I I Jjh mmI |V1 til « »"«»•• 

1,11 I, loin ' •'< P I N I"' • '•• IN I ""I WWfl Nrtld I" hfi \ •«• 

i\i.n •■• ii< i.i , ( .i .i. « ..i 1 1... i<i. . ii.i, i ,mi in i hi -'i imv I loon 

.,11. I I ll« Ml.," ,. Ml. I....I I.I ■ . •. lll< I, W.I IH.I I. II ll'illl 

• in m i iiim ii. mi. i 1 1 ;'i. iii. . mi in. i •, IumIm linn rtirtki 

nil h. , |.l .. . ..I ih I | | .i .ill I In |„ -,|,l, •-, . m i mi, mi, r h, ,i \ .,i«l 

• I hi , . I i 1)111 < |.l m ..I I In' |i.,\\ ill i .unl h. II , y. I III .|M.il I < <l 

nil III;-. Lilly M|.«.li lh< llnm .unl «<.mIimm..I Mi lli.il | .. . Ml hi 

miiim.mi Mm I. .i i hurt Mivtwl blainud hi m Inn . , "' 1 bi 

h.l-l I I,. Ml I I Ml I • |.< I I- IK < I MM I * i HI \ MM . <l I I W .1 I III- MM Mil 

|iM,l..il.l< mm .hi i.i li viilillli/' «l mm. i Mil mm hi. Ml ill .j.l.iynl 

(I,, |,I,||.. n|.ll< I ill. I f)ldl( I \lhl Iii .HIM/'. IllM MllP.lnl I IIIH'K II 

1,1. I ,1.1. I IllM With "Mil 0011 I tin y, I Ml | l| uly fOl M . Il« l I II • I III 

. nil I I IM I . I I Mill' I, I.. ill < I \ . "I .1 I I In I h I III. Ill I III" llllll 

-, I III « • M III , lil|. I MlMlll. I I II I ..I M- .|H llllll IM • U I I I I III III 

I.U! I In I in I I.U I . I.. ■ n I,' VI- I y MM I IllM I l\ i t0 I HOW thfl I "Mil Ml 

,.| mil |i.i|i< i * * 1 ltd h.lil I lli'lll I li.il lit I In v<i J .iiim 
Ill WH I Im u • i. .1 «. n-l.iiv 1 w.i I Ii. <l. -\ |1' . I.I I, , nl 

IIM ,., , mi ,<i ..I.. , who Mini iii mi |..i|" i tlu biul i" 1 1 h ol 1 hi ivll 

hi of <l,iilu.i \- . .. Mini.- \\ , I hi \ I..iI..mIm Iiiim Iii w i lie ,uiy 

i , in in ii .ui .i. .mi . .i \ ii. u .i l( id, unl i" 1 • ttd 



II II II J - I f I I ' -.1 f '. Mil Ml. • !<•'( I M 



OJ i >:'." Ion , |.< -in 1 1 .ii Irig 1 1 1 • i j » • ■ i « -Hi .ni'i bud < vii y 

qimlirti .ii ion i.i i ni. w,i i. <| ii i ii« foi in i bold mid dlffi< u It i / \- 

cnli i pi !-..-, il. i • ii.. I Ii. |n< <|.,iil,h«l I .ii.il .1 In ■ ml. 

< in i-,i' 1 1 <ii< i k.i 1. 1 1 y .ii i .-.,,. <i u> In |.hUi i.< <i ..i J'.u i in ni' • 

fc dOWtl K -'M'l dl ■•! ' I...I ■.•.-•.ii lil l..i /. In « || /< i y ... - - .1,1 1 

i ., i in- . hi i-.u .m..i mi f\w nbl* i" 1 1" i « i-i i nnl/Hl/1 /■ "i i. ni ii 
CftrollriH und U«oi fiioh m&y bi i'««4ily found in Kr«d«rlon f il 
i hi maim - rlpl Iin ■• bitd ' b< ■ I foi turn i.. • < .,),< i i.< d< ipoil 

in." Ii.iikI '.I milil ., i y |,n ■ . | 

Will). mi li.K .,1. ' I « . . i, foi iik i i y |.i -.Ii '.i -.1 I.i Mi l< I I i . 

..mi in ii.i y in i Ik I'm/I , ii y .,1 (tool ;' In "kI ri I \t\ ■ r>pn 

II.. ii mini 'hi in I'liil.i'N l|iln.i, Ii.i ■ |,nl,li Ik 'I ',!.< vnlnnn nl IIk 
Hi .Ii,! y ',1 | K ',/ ; 'i i. n. vim Ii '.'/. In, 'I I 1 1 1 I', IL, .Jin | 

-•Jlit .,| |'i | h{ f| //In. || v< < nj.y ..I. If n -III in In () || |{ In 

.illinium II i Ik .,. i iv.i I ..I « ml. I I,., i |,. ,.i In ill . i< .. In i. 

' m IIk i • I in ii OJ I Ik ;<- n. i ..I I cm I- l-.i ni.. Ill '-nil i | <1 
In I i ..i,'i- |,i i .,i • / l>, hi In 'I it.M'1 m,l .. Ill I N- .-.hi |,i i . -I 

In ttfld, 'imli i hi • '-.. i < •! i « nl .Ii « i I- iii • ..ml liKli.n. n,- ■ 

,.- .i m. i ii nl' |,nh In 'I .i'l*l i . .mill k | l< ., , »| 

i/iiy II- /' i < -I i,', I .mi I y in I ||| I ml I., i- I In* 1 1 lu- 

ll ;i« I ' nm|,n «'l .. -Ii- I inn. i i / , Inil *l*0 |."l'<- I In I. .In. I n m I, .,ml 
in || Mm i, My ..ikI I'.nr/li I. |,. il.- I.I-/ Ij.nn In I i.n inlijn, 

| <l .. • In I. 'i, Ik ... I- m, •/:- 'I;" 'I I l.-.l || WtU ' Ut \t\ 

il .i ' ni,). .Ii | ..I inn nl ..II I In | mil Ik i i, Imlnn. , In in |,n« I | 
With I in In- I.i y In in I I m I ll.n.i in I In ..i I • i II ■ ■ | y Ui I l,< ■',,,, 

mn'lil.K-.-. nl 1 1 ) < , .nnl , i n I, nil In • Unm In llnnv/nl) Un 

ynl'. | nl H.ni l'.< || nj ,< .. i . ..Ili« f»| ..II milinm-. ' II. ,,in|,n<<l In 
in.n : I • mi -i,l in I I,., I |,.n I nl < | n; ;n ., vln< I, i ■/; 1 1 Inn I In lln.il.-. 

nl l.ln ^ -In n,l' i i- '..ml- .. I. ' m-. i -l .. » .. ml I n ■•.• -M , ■ n I In i < < , i 



: 
I I I/O, 

' 
i 



276 HISTORY OP ALAItAMA. 

fugitive English, French and Germans, and they were to 
L745 take under their particular care the runaway negroes of 

the English. All criminals were to be sheltered, as he 
proposed to make his place an asylum for all fugitives, and 
the cattle and effects they might bring with them. He 
expected a great resort of debtors, transported felons, ser- 
vants, and negro slaves from the two Carolinas, Georgia and Vir- 
ginia, offering, as his scheme did, toleration to all crimes and 
licentiousness, except murder and idleness. Upon his person 
was found his private journal, revealing, in part, his designs, 
with various memoranda relating to his project. In it he speaks 
not only of individual Indians and negroes, whose assistance had 
been promised, and of a private treasurer in Charleston, for keep- 
ing tin; funds collected ; but also, that he expected many things 
from the French, and from another nation, whose; name he left 
blank. There were also found upon him letters for the Florida 
and Spanish governors, demanding their protection of him and 
countenance of his scheme. Among his papers was one contain- 
ing articles of government for his new town, regularly and elab- 
orately drawn out and digested. In this volume he enumerates 
many rights and privileges, as he calls them, to which the citi- 
zens of this colony are to be entitled, particularly dissolving mar- 
riages, allowing a community of women, and all kinds of licen- 
tiousness. It was drawn up with much art, method and learning, 
and was designed to be privately printed and circulated. When 
it was hinted to him that such a plan was attended with many 
dangers and difficulties, and must require many years to establish 
his government, he replied, * Proceeding properly, many of these 
evils may be avoided ; and as to length of time, we have a suc- 
cession of agents to take up the work as fast as others leave it. 

We never lose sight of a favorite point, nor are we 

1745 bound by the strict rules of morality in the means, when 

the end we pursue is laudable. If we err, our general 

is to blame; and we have a merciful God to pardon us. But be- 



JESUIT PRIESTS OR MISSIONARIES. 277 

lieve me,' he continued, * before the century is passed, the Euro- 
peans will have a very small footing on this continent.' 

" Indeed, he often hinted that there were others of his breth- 
ren laboring among the Indians for the same purpose. Being 
confined in the barracks at Frederica, he exhibited a stoical in- 
difference to his fate; conversed with freedom, conducted with 
politeness, and attracted the notice and favorable attention of 
many of the gentlemen there. His death, in prison, put an end 
to all further proceedings, and his plans died with him. Such 
was the strange being whose Jesuitical intrigues well nigh event- 
uated in the destruction of Georgia. A thorough Jesuit, an ac- 
complished linguist, a deep tactician, far-sighted in his plans, and 
far-reaching in his expedients, he possessed every qualification 
for his design, and only failed of bringing down great evil upon 
the English, because he was apprehended before his scheme had 
been matured."* 

There were many curious characters roving over the terri- 
tory of Alabama and Mississippi at this period. Traders from 
South Carolina and Georgia, were found in almost every Indian 
village ; while the French from Mobile and New Orleans and the 
Spaniards from the Floridas continued to swell the number of 
these singular merchants. They encountered all kinds of dan- 
gers and suffered all kinds of privations to become successful in 
their exciting traffic. Adair, one of these British traders, thus 
describes the mode by which difficult streams were passed : 

" When we expect high rivers, each company of traders carry 
a canoe, made of the tanned leather, the sides overlapped about 
three fingers' breadth, and well sewed with three seams. Around 
the gunnels, which are made of saplings, are strong loopholes, 
for large deerskin strings to hang down both the sides. With 
two of these is securely tied to the stem and stern, a well shaped 
sapling for a keel, and in like manner the ribs. Thus they usu- 
ally rig out a canoe, fit to carry over ten horse-loads at once, in 

* Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. 1, pp. 1G5-1C7. 



278 HISTORY OP ALABAMA. 

the space of half an hour. The apparatus is afterwards hidden 
with great care on the opposite shore. Few take the trouble to 
paddle the canoe, for, as they are commonly hardy, and also of an 
amphibious nature, they usually jump into the river with their 
leathern barge ahead of them, and thrust it through the deep 
part of the water to the opposite shore. When we ride with only 
a few luggage horses, we make a frame of dry pines, which we 
tie together with strong vines well twisted. When we have 
raised it to be sufficiently buoyant, we load and paddle it across, 
and afterwards swim our horses, keeping at a little distance be- 
low them." * 

* Adair's American Indians, p. 272. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
The French Battles Upon the Tombigby. 

When we suspended our review of the operations of the 
French upon the territory of Alabama and Mississippi, for the 
purpose of bringing to the notice of the reader the early coloniza- 
tion of Georgia by Oglethorpe, it will be borne in mind that the 
horrible massacre at Natchez had occurred. The tribe 
of that name had crossed the Mississippi, and fortified 1732 
on Black river, near the Washita. Governor Perrier, Jan. 
attacking them at that point, had captured many of the 
men, women and children, whom he conveyed to New Orleans, 
and from thence shipped to the Island of St. Domingo, 
where they were sold to work upon the plantations. March 
Some of those who escaped the hands of the French at 
Black river, retreated to the vicinity of the fort at Natchitoches, 
upon which they presently made a furious assault. The brave 
St. Denys, the commandant, successfully repulsed them. A rem- 
nant of this warlike but unfortunate tribe had fled to the Chick- 
asaw nation, while another small band sought a home among the 
Creeks, upon the Coosa. 

Governor Perrier was guilty of excessive cruelty to many 
of these poor fugitives who fell into his hands. In the streets of 
New Orleans he publicly, and without any hesitation, caused four 
of the men and two of the women to be burned to death. He 
also cheerfully permitted the Tonicas, who brought down a 
Natchez woman whom they had discovered in the woods, to put 
an end to her existence in the same manner. A platform was 
erected near the levee. The unfortunate woman was led forth, 

279 



280 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

placed upon it, and, surrounded by the whole population of New 
Orleans, was slowly consumed by the flames ! What a stigma 
upon the character of the early inhabitants of the Crescent City ! 
Gayarre says: — "The victim supported, with the most stoical 
fortitude, all the tortures which were inflicted upon her, and did 
not shed a tear. On the contrary, she upbraided her torturers 
with their want of skill, flinging at them every opprobrious 
epithet she could think of."* 

As a nation, the Natchez were thus entirely destroyed 
Great sympathy was felt for them by all the tribes in Mississippi 
and Alabama ; even the Choctaws, who were so wedded to the 
French, being sad on account of their fate, and annoyed at the 
unparalleled cruelties they experienced at the hands of their vin- 
dictive conquerors. The noble Creeks, upon the Coosa, received 
some of the refugees with open arms, while the still nobler 
Chickasaws not only welcomed others to their doors, but swore 
to shed the blood of their pursuers, in a protracted war. These 
things made the condition of the French colony a very critical 
one. The English of Carolina did not fail to fan the fire which, 
they imagined, would soon consume their ancient colonial ene- 
mies. An expedition was fitted out in Charleston, 
1734 composed of many traders and adventurers, with sev- 
enty pack-horses laden chiefly with munitions of war. 
Whether it was at the instance of the British government, or 
not, is unknown. They took the well-beaten path for the Chick- 
asaw nation, and passing by the town of Coosa, then situated in 
the territory of the present county of Talladega, they prevailed 
upon some of the refugee Natchez to accompany them, and to assist 
in repelling the French invasion, which, it was known, was then 
contemplated. Arriving in the Chickasaw nation, they dispersed 
over the country, and not a few of them found their way to the 
towns of the Choctaws. Soon the whole Indian sky was crim- 

* Louisiana, its Colonial History and Romance, by Charles Gayarre. New York : 1851. 
pp. 444-445. 



THE FRENCH BATTLES ffPOM THE TOMBIGBY. tiH 1 



toned with flashing meteors, and then made dark wiUi angry 
clouds. 

Prance, apprised of the precarious situation of her distant 
children, once more resolved to send the veteran Bienville to. take 
care of them. The King began to sec that Ids services 

could not be dispensed with, and after he had passed 1788 

eight years in Paris, be sailed for the colony. His ar- Mar. 

rival at Mobile was hailed with joy and acclamations by 
the inhabitants. Diron D'Artaguette, a man of nerve and 
much ability, who had been longer absent from tin; colony 
than Bienville, accompanied him. He was presently stationed 

at Mobile as the Kind's commissary. Bienville, at first, oc- 
cupied muob of his time in visiting Mobile and New Or- 
leans, for the purpose of ^ivin^ quiet to tin; inhabitants and 

preparing them for a war of invasion. On one occasion, while 
be was in New Orleans, Diron D'Artaguette aroused all the 

French settlers towards tin; east by despatches which In; sent 

among them in relation to the arrival of the English expedition, 
to which allusion has just been made, and of the, determination of 
the Chbctaws to act in future against the French. Be warned 
everybody to be upon their guard, for it was probable they might 
be butchered at any hour. The people of Mobile 

were in a state of extreme terror; they never went to !7.'J. r > 
mass without carrying their ^uns in their hands. In- 
deed, they at one time, resolved to retire to New Oilcans, but 

Bienville arriving commanded them to remain and fear nothing. 
He highly disapproved of the, excitement which Diron I>'Arta- 
guette had produced, and thought there was no occasion for such 

Officious watchfulness on tin; part of tin; commissary. This pro- 
duced unpleasant feelings between them, and they indulged in 
recriminations of each other inofficial reports to the government. 
Bienville was mortified at the, conduct of D'Artaguette in rebuk- 
ing the Choctaw Chiefs, who had recently paid him a visit, for 

permitting the English to come among them. Further, In; die- 



282 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



missed them without presents, upon which they returned home 
highly offended. These things were represented to the 
1735 government by Bienville, while D'Artaguette, on the 
Apr. 29 other hand, stated in one of his despatches that Bien- 
ville's opposition to him arose from the fact that he had 
reported the " misconduct of his proteges or favorites, Lesueur, 
and the Jesuit, Father Beaudoin, who, to the great scandal of the 
Choctaws, seduce their women."* 

It is pleasant to us to be able to state that only a few of the 
missionaries, of the order of Jesuits, thus abused the holy offices 
with which they were entrusted. The great body of them led 
the most pious lives and suffered the greatest privations in their 
efforts to redeem the savages from heathenism. 

In the meantime small parties of Natchez, with their gener- 
ous allies, the Chickasaws, sought all occasions to annoy 
1735 their enemy. From ^ambuscades on the hill tops and 
banks of the rivers, along the Indian paths in the inte- 
rior, and from dark valleys in the mountains, they sprang 
upon the French trappers, hunters and traders with the impetu- 
osity of lions and the agility of tigers, and drank their hot blood 
with the voraciousness of wolves. 

But Bienville was straining every nerve to complete his pre- 
parations for the invasion of the Chickasaw nation. He 
1735 visited Mobile once more, and having assembled at that 
point a large delegation of Choctaw Chiefs, he in a great 
measure accomplished his object in gaining them over to his side. 
It was important that he should do so, for Red Shoes, a potent 
Chief of that tribe, had already declared in favor of the 
English. Bienville freely distributed merchandise, and prom- 
ised a much larger amount if they would assist him in the 
war, to which they finally consented. Indeed, ever since his 
arrival from France, he saw the necessity of inspiring the Indian 
nations with awe and respect, by a bold and successful strike at 

* Louisiana, its Colonial History and Romance, by Gayarre, p. 469. 



THE FRENCH BATTLES UPON THE TOMBIGBY. 283 

the Chickasaws. Nor had he failed to demand the necessary 
men and military supplies from the mother country. 

In the midst of these precarious times, a most unfortunate 
affair occurred in the bay of Mobile. A smuggling vessel, from 
Jamaica, cast her anchor twelve miles from the town. Diron 
D'Artaguette ordered her commander to leave the French coast; 
he refused. The commissary then placed Lieutenant DeVelles 
in a boat, armed with thirty men, and ordered him to capture 
the smuggler. When he approached near her, the latter opened 
an effective fire; seventeen Frenchmen were immediately killed. 
Before D'Artaguette could reinforce DeVelles, the smuggler had 
made her escape to sea. This affair again enraged Bienville, and 
the war of recrimination was fiercer than ever between 
him and the commissary. What a pity it was, that men 1735 
of such worth and character did not better appreciate July 16 
each other. In olden times they had been great friends. 

The commissary had a younger brother, who had behaved 
with distinguished gallantry in expeditions against the Natchez. 
He had recently been promoted to the command of the French 
fort in the district of Illinois. With him Bienville corresponded, 
respecting the invasion ; he was ordered to collect the disposable 
French forces, and all the Indians in that country who would 
join him, and with them to march in a southern direction to the 
Chickasaw towns, while Bienville would march from the south, 
and meet him in the country of the enemy, on the 31st 
March, 1736. Afterwards the governor informed young 1735 
D'Artaguette that he had been unable to make his 
arrangements to join him at that time, but he would meet him 
at another time, which was also appointed. 

Bienville, nine months before this period, had despatched M. 
De Lusser, with a company of soldiers and artisans, to a place 
upon the Little Tombigby, which is now called Jones' Bluff, with 
orders to erect there a fort and cabins to be used as a depot for 
the army, and, afterwards, to serve as a permanent trading post. 



284 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



That fearless officer had reached these wilds in safety, and it was 
not long before the forest resounded with" the noise of axes and 
the heavy falling of timber. He was assisted in his labors by 
many of the Choctaws. 

At length the army left New Orleans, and passing 

1736 through the lakes reached Mobile. The vessels contain- 

Mar. 22 ing the supplies having entered the Gulf by way of the 

Balize, were retarded by winds, and did not arrive until 
six days afterwards ; and then it was discovered that a cargo of 

rice was destroyed by the salt water. To replace this 
Mar. 28 loss, Bienville set his bakers to work, who made a large 

supply of biscuits for the army. He sent a despatch to 
De Lusser at Fort " Tombecbe," ordering him to build ovens, and 

to have made an abundant supply of biscuits by the time 

1736 of his arrival at that place. When all things were ready, 

April 1 Bienville embarked his troops at Mobile, and turned his 

boats up the river of that name. Never before had 
such a large and imposing fleet of the kind disturbed the deep 
and smooth waters which now flow by our beautiful commercial 
emporium. Every kind of up-country craft was employed, and 
they bore men nearly of all kinds and colors. The crews were 
composed of genteel merchants, gentlemen of leisure and fortune, 
loafers and convicts, rough but bold mariners, veteran soldiers, 
sturdy and invincible Canadians, monks and priests, Choctaws 
and Mobilians, and a company of negroes commanded by Simon, 
a free mulatto. The fleet comprised more than sixty of the 
largest pirogues and bateaux. Entering the main Tombigby, 
Bienville made his way up that stream to the confluence of the 
Warrior, and there, passing into the Little Tombigby, he at 
length arrived at the fort.* Heavy rains and much high water 
had retarded his passage. 

The governor found that the fort was unfinished, and only 
some cabins, surrounded by stockades and covered with leaves, 

* Now Jones' Bluff. 



THE FRENCH BATTLES UPON THE TOMBIGBY. 285 



could be occupied. The bakers had prepared but few biscuits, 
for the fire cracked the prairie soil of which the ovens were 
made. After various unsuccessful efforts to make suitable ovens, 
they succeeded by mixing sand with the earth. Bienville was 
surprised to see, at the fort, four persons in irons — one French- 
man, two Swiss, and Montfort, a sergeant. They had formed 
the design of assassinating the commandant of the fort, M. De 
Lusser, and also the keeper of the store house, and of carrying 
oft' Tisnet and Rosilie, who had recently been rescued from the 
Chickasaws, among whom they had been held in slavery. They 
intended to convey these unfortunate men back to their masters, 
in order to gain favor with the tribe, who would therefore be in- 
duced, after a time, to facilitate their escape to the British prov- 
inces. But these assassins were defeated in their plans ; for 
Lieutenant Grondel, with the rapidity of action and the bravery 
which had ever distinguished him, arrested Montfort with his 
own hands. The prisoners were tried by a court martial, and 
being sentenced to be shot, were "presently passed by the arms 
at the head of the troops."* 

When all the allied Choctaws had arrived, Bienville re- 
viewed his troops upon the plain in the rear of the fort. He found 
that his army was composed of five hundred and fifty 
men, exclusive of officers, together with six hundred In- 1736 
dians. He now assumed the line of march for the coun- May 4 
try of the enemy. The larger number of the French 
troops embarked in the boats. Some of the Indians proceeded to 
their own canoes, while many hardy Canadians, called couriers 
de bois, marched with other Indians, sometimes along the banks, 
where the swamps did not intervene; and then again a mile or 
two from the river. It was truly an imposing scene to be exhibited 
in these interminable wilds. After encountering many difficul- 
ties, the redoubtable Bienville at length reached the spot where 
now stands the city of Columbus, in Mississippi: and pur- 

* Dumont's Memoires Historiques sur la Louisiane, p. 216. 



286 HISTORY OF A LA HAM A. 



May 22 BUing his tedious voyage, finally moored his boats at or 
near the plaoe now known as Cotton Gin Port. Here dis- 
embarking, be immediately began to fell the trees in the forest, 

and soon stockaded a place ample enough to secure his 

May 28 baggage and provisions, together with the siek ; while 

the side fronting the river was arranged with loopholes 

for muskets, to protect his boats, which were all unladen and 

drawn up close together. He was twenty-seven miles from the 
towns of the enemy, which lay in a western direction. He left 
twenty men here under Vanderek, besides the keeper of the mag- 
azine, the patroons of the boats, and .some of the soldiers who 

were sick. With some difficulty he hired a sufficient numbei of 

(he Ohootaws to transport the sacks of powder and balls, for the 

negroes were already laden with other things. Taking provisions 
with him to last twelve days, the governor began the march in 

the evening, and that night encamped six miles from 
May 24 the depot. The rains which incommoded him in his 

voyage up the river, did not forsake him on his march 
upon the present, occasion ; for, scarcely had lie formed his camp, 
when a violent storm arose. The next day he passed three deep 
ravines — the soldiers wading up to their waists — and after gain- 
ing the opposite banks, slipping- and falling constantly upon the 
slimy soil. Great difficulties were surmounted in transporting the 
effects of the army over these angry torrents. The banks on 
either side were covered with large canes, but Bienville took the 
precaution always to send spies in advance, to prevent surprise 
from ambuscades. Soon, however, the French were relieved by 
the appearance of the most beautiful country in the world. The 
prairies were Stretohed out wide before them, covered with green 
glass, Bowers and strawberries, while forests of magnificent trees 
were to be seen in the distance. A breeze gently played over the 
Surface of the lovely plains, and a May day's sun warmed all na- 
ture into life. The sleek cattle were everywhere grazing upon 
these sweet meadows of nature. The nimble deer bounded along, 



THE FBENCB BATTLES tJPOM THE TOMBIGBY. 287 

and droves of wild horses, of every variety of color, with lofty 
tails and spreading manes, made the earth resound with their 
rapid tread. Alas! alas! to think that the inhabitants, whom 
the Great Spirit had placed in a country so lovely and so enchant- 
ing, were soon to be assailed by ail army Of foreigners, assisted 
by their own neighbors. 

Drawing nearer and nearer to the enemy, Bienville finally 
encamped within six miles of their towns. His camp was formed 
upon the border of a delightful prairie, the view across which was 
not interrupted by trees, until it had reached far beyond the In- 
dian houses. lie had previously sent spies in all directions, to 
look for D'Artaguette and his troops, who were to have joined 
him there. The bands, chiefly composed of Indians, returned 
without having beard anything of that unfortunate officer. The 
governor was sorely disappointed, and could no Longer hope for 

aid from that source, ami he resolved to rely upon 

his own forces. His intention, at first, was to march 17o<> 

in a circuitous direction, around the Chickasaw vil- May 24 

lages, in order to attack the Natchez town which 

lay behind them, and which had recently been erected. 

But the Choctaws had become very impatient to assail 

an advanced village of the Chickasaws, which, they in- 
sisted, could be easily taken, and which, they stated, contained 
a large amount of provisions. Their importunities were disre- 
garded until strengthened by the entreaties of the Chevalier 

Noyan, the nephew of the governor, and many other French 
officers, whose impetuous disposition made them eager for an im- 
mediate attack. The house of the enemy stood upon a hill, in 
the prairie, and spread out in thesbapeof a triangle. After some 
consideration, Bienville resolved to give the French an 
opportunity of gratifying a long sought revenge, es- 1735 
pecially when it was made known to him that his camp Mar. 20 
was then pitched near the last water which his men 
could procure for miles in a western direction. At two o'clock 



288 history OF ALABAMA. 

in the afternoon, Chevalier Noyan was placed at the head of 
a column consisting of a detachment of fifteen men drawn from 
each of the eight French companies, a company of grenadiers, 
fortyrflve volunteers and sixty-five Swiss. 

The Chickasaws had fortified themselves with much skill, 
and were, assisted by Englishmen, who had caused them to hoist 
a flag of their country over one of their defenses. The French 
troops, as they advanced, were not a little surprised to seethe 
British Lion, against which many of them had often fought in 
Europe, now floating over the rude huts of American Indians, 
and bidding them defiance. The Chickasaws had fortified their 
houses in a most defensive manner, by driving large stakes into 
the ground around them. Many loop-holes were cut through 
the Latter, very near the ground. Within the palisades, entrench- 
ments were OUt, deep enough to protect the persons of the Indians 
as high as their breasts. In these ditches they stood, and when 
the battle began, shot through the Loop-holes at the French. 
The tops of these fortified houses were covered with timbers, 
upon which was placed a thick coat of mud plaster, so that 
neither ignited arrows nor bomb shells could set the houses on 
lire. What added still more to the security of the Chickasaws, 
was the position of some of their houses, which stood in nearly 
opposite directions, so as to admit of destructive cross-firing. 
Bienville having previously learned that there were several of the 
British in tin; village, had, with much humanity, as it may at that 
time have seemed, directed the Chevalier Noyan to give them 
time to retire before he brought on the attack. The division 
then marched briskly on. It was protected by movable breast- 
works, called mantalets, which were now carried by the com- 
pany of negroes. As their lives appear not to have been 

esteemed of as muoh value as those of the French, these 

17W> negroes were used in the same manner as shields are in 

May k J(i battle. When the troops advanced within carbine shot 

of the village of Ackia, where waved the British flag 1 



THE FRENCH BATTLES lll'ON THE T0MB1GBY. 289 

one of the negroes was killed, and another wounded. They 
all now threw down their mantalets and precipitately fled. 
The French, with their usual impetuosity, rapidly advanced. 
They entered the village. The grenadiers led. And now, no 
longer protected by the mantalets, they received a severe fire 
from the Chickasaws, which killed and wounded many. Among 
the former was the gallant and accomplished Chevalier de 
Contre COBUr; and when he fell dead it produced an unplea- 
sant feeling among those around him, by whom he was greatly 
esteemed. Upon his right and left soldiers lay dead, 
discoloring the green grass with their hot blood. But 1786 
the troops carried three fortified cabins, and reached May 26 
several smaller ones, which they presently wrapped in 

Haines. The chief fort and other fortified houses Lay some dis- 
tance in the rear of those they had in possession. The Chevalier 
\oyan was eager to advance upon them, but turning round to 
take a rapid survey of his forces he was mortified to perceive that 
only the officers, a dozen of tin; volunteers and some grenadiers 
remained with him. Dismayed by tin; fall of Captain de Lusser,* 
who was now killed, and seeing a popular sergeant of grenadiers 
and several BOldiers also fall, the troops retreated to the cabins 
which were first taken. In vain did the officers who belonged to the 
rear endeavor to drive them on to the scene of action. A panic 
had seized them, and no exhortation, threats, promises 
of promotion or hopes of military glory could induce 1736 
them to make the slightest advance from their cowardly May 'JO 
position. But the officers resolved more than ever to do 
their duty, and placing themselves at the head of a few brave sol- 
diers essayed to storm the fort. Hut just at the moment of their 
contemplated charge the brave Chevalier Noyan, Grondel, an in- 
vincible lieutenant of the Swiss, D'Hauterive, a captain of the 
grenadiers, Montbrun, De Velles, and many other officers and 

* it will be recollected that De Luster, who was now killed, was the officer whom 
Bienville tent to construct Fort " Tombecpe," upon the site of t be present Jones' Bluff. 

— 19 



290 HISTORY OF ALAKAMA. 



soldiers received severe wounds. The balls of the Chickasaws 

came thick and whizzed over the prairie. The bleeding De Noyan 

stood his ground, and despatched his aid to assist in bringing up 

the soldiers, who still screened themselves behind the 

1736 cabins, but as lie left to perform the order a Chickasaw 
May 26 ball put an end to his existence. The death of this offi- 
cer, whose name was De Juzan, increased the panic 
which had so unfortunately seized upon the larger number of the 
troops. A party of Indians at this moment rushed up to scalp 
Gronael, the Swiss officer, who had fallen near the walls of the 
fort. A brave sergeant with four fearless soldiers rushed to the 
rescue. Driving off the savages, they were about to bear him off 
in their arms when a tire from the fort killed every one of these 
noble fellows ! But the bleeding Grondel still survive^, although 
those who came to protect his head from the blows of the hatchet 
lay dead by his side. Another act of heroism is worthy of 
record. Regnisse now rushed out alone, and making his way to 
the unfortunate Grondel, who still lay bleeding from five wounds, 
dragged him out from among the bodies of those who had 

1736 just fallen in his defence, placed him on his back and 

May 26 returned to the French lines, without receiving a solitary 

wound from the showers of Chickasaw balls. The almost 

lifeless Grondel received, however, another severe wound as he 

was borne off by the noble Regnisse.* 

But where were the six hundred Choctaws, while the French 
were thus expiring in agony upon the prairie? Painted, plumed 
and dressed in a manner the most fantastic and horrible, they 
kept the plain, on either side of the French lines, at a distance 
where the balls of the enemy could not reach them, sending 
forth yells and shouts, and occasionally dancing and shooting 
their guns in the air. The brave Chickasaws maintained their 



* This Grondel was an officer of indomitable courage. His life was full of romantic 
events. He bad fought several duels at Mobile. He recovered from the wounds which 
he received In this battle, and \v;is promoted to high military stations. 



THE FRENCH BATTLES UPON THE TOMBIGBY. 291 

positions in the fortified houses, and, from loop holes, riddled the 

French with their unerring rifles. They, too, yelled 

most awfully. The scene was one calculated to excite 1736 

deep interest, for, added to all this, the looker-on might May 26 

have viewed the flames rising up from the burning 

cabins, and sending above them volumes of black smoke, which a 

May breeze wafted to the far off forests. 

The Chevalier De Xoyan now ordered a retreat to the ad- 
vanced cabins, and when he had arrived there, he despatched an 
officer to Bienville, bearing an account of their critical 
condition. Noyan sent him word that, although severely 1736 
wounded himself, he was determined to keep the posi- May 26 
tion which he had just taken. He requested that a de- 
tachment should be sent to his assistance, to bear off the dead 
and wounded, and assist those who were alive to make a retreat, 
as, now, no further hope remained of storming the fortifications 
of the Chickasaws. Bienville was hastened in his determination 
to send aid, by observing that a Chickasaw force on the flank, 
which had not yet participated in the battle, was about to sally 
from their houses and immolate the French officers and the few 
soldiers who had remained with them. He then immediately 
despatched Beauchamp, with eighty men, to the scene of action. 
Arriving there he found the French officers huddled together, 
keeping their ground at the imminent peril of their lives. Beau- 
champ, in advancing, had already lost several men. The Chick- 
asaws now redoubled their exertions, and made the plains 
resound with their exulting shouts. Beauchamp began the re- 
treat, carrying off many of the wounded and the dead, but 
unfortunately was forced to leave some behind, who fell into the 
tiger clutches of the Chickasaws. When the French had retreated 
some distance towards Bienville's headquarters, the Choctaws, 
by way of bravado, rushed up to the Chickasaw fortifications, as 
if they intended to carry them by storm, but receiving a general 
volley from the enemy, they fled in great terror over the prairie. 



292 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

The battle of Ackia had lasted three hours, and resulted in 
glory to the Chickasaws, and disgrace to the French. When the 
French troops arrived at the camp, proper attention was paid to 
the wounded and the dying. It was not long before this bril- 
liant and exciting scene was made to give place to one which 
presented an aspect at once quiet, calm and beautiful. The sun, 
in his retirement for the night, had just sunk to the tops of the 
trees in the far off distance. A cool and delicious breeze was 
made sweet with the odor of wild flowers. The Chickasaws 
were as quiet as the boa-constrictor after he has gorged upon his 
prey. The cattle and horses, much disturbed during the fight, 
now began to move up and feed upon their accustomed meadows. 
What a contrast had been produced by the lapse of only two 
hours ! 

During this quiet scene, a collection of French officers were 
on one side of the camp, summing up the misfortunes of the day. 
Among them stood Simon, the commander of the negroes who 
fled from the field. Simon was a favorite with the officers, and 
had resolutely maintained his ground during the en- 
1736 gagement. Some of them rallied him upon the flight of 
May 26 his company, which annoyed him excessively. At that 
moment, a drove of horses came down to the stream to 
slake their thirst, not far from the fortified houses of the Chicka- 
saws. The desperate Simon, in reply to those who made sport 
of his company, seized a rope and ran off towards the horses, 
saying : " I will show you that a negro is as brave as any one." 
He passed around the horses in full range of the Chickasaw 
rifles, from which balls were showered upon him, and making 
his way up to a beautiful white mare, threw a rope over her 
head, and thus securing her, passed it around her nose, mounted 
upon her back with the agility of a Camanche Indian, and 
pressed her with rapid speed into the French lines. He did not 
receive a wound, and he was welcomed with shouts by the sol- 



THE FRENCH BATTLES UPON THE TOMBIGBY. 293 

diers, and was no more jeered on account of the cowardice of his 
company.* 

Bienville, pleased with the gallantry which Regnisse had 
displayed in bearing off the wounded Grondel, immediately from 
under the guns of the Chickasaws, had him brought to the mar- 
quee, complimented him upon the generous and heroic act which 
he had performed, and proposed to promote him to the rank of 
an officer. The brave Regnisse modestly replied that he had 
done nothing more than what could have been accomplished by 
any of his brother grenadiers, and stated that as he could not 
write, he was unfitted for an officer ; therefore he declined the 
intended honor. 

Night now shrouded the scene with its sable mantle, and the 
French troops reposed behind some trees which had been felled 
for their protection. The Chickasaws remained quiet within 
their intrenchments. At length day dawned, and exhibited to 
Bienville a painful sight. On the ramparts of the Chickasaws 
were suspended the French soldiers and officers, whom Beau- 
champ was forced to leave upon the field. Their limbs had been 
separated from their bodies, and thus were they made to dangle 
in the air, for the purpose of insulting the defeated invaders. 
Many of the officers wished to rush again upon the villages, but 
Bienville determined to retreat, as the Choctaws were of no as- 
sistance to him, and he was without cannon to batter 
down the fortifications. In the afternoon, at two o'clock, 1736 
he began the retrograde march. The soldiers, worn May 27 
down with fatigue produced by the battle and the 
mortifications arising from its disgraceful termination, were 
unable, in addition to their heavy loads of baggage, to carry 
the wounded, who were placed in litters. Consequently night 
set in by the time Bienville had marched only four miles ; 
here the camp was again made. The Choctaws were highly 
exasperated on account of this slow movement, and Red Shoes, 

* Duniont's Mernoires Historique sur la Louisiane. 



294 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

who had long endeavored to wean his people from the French 
interest, now vociferously threatened to take with him the 
greater portion of the Choctaws, and thus leave the French 
to the mercy of the Chickasaws in this wild and distant region. 
Bienville was startled when he was informed of this determina- 
tion. He sent for the main Chief of the Choctaws, and by his 
eloquence and the force of that mysterious influence which he 
possessed, he succeeded not only in getting the Choctaws to re- 
main with the army, but made them consent to assist in the 
transportation of the wounded. Red Shoes rebuked the head 
Chief, for consenting to such terms, in a manner so insulting, 
that the latter drew his pistol from his belt, and was in the act 
of shooting him, when Bienville seized his arm, saved the life of 
Red Shoes, and, for a while put an end to an affair 
1736 which threatened the most serious consequences. The 
May 28 next morning Bienville put his troops upon the march, 
and he arrived at the depot, upon the Tombigby, on 
the 29th May, after he had buried two of his men, on the way, 
who had died of their wounds. 

Bienville was astonished to observe how much the river had 
fallen, and he hurried his effects into the boats, for fear that the 
delay of a day longer would leave him without a stream sufficient 
to convey him to Mobile. When the troops had embarked, the 
ropes which bound the boats to the banks were untied, and then 
the discomfited French party passed down the stream. The 
channel of the Little Tombigby was here so crooked and narrow, 
that the boats had frequently to stop until logs and projecting 
limbs were cut out of the way. If the Chickasaws had followed 
up the French, they could easily have destroyed Bien- 
1736 ville's army at this time. At length the army reached 
June 2 Fort " Tombecbe," now Jones' Bluff. Bienville, send- 
ing on a portion of the troops, and the sick and 
wounded to Mobile, disembarked at the fort. He remained there, 
however, but one day, which he consumed in planning upon paper, 



THE FRENCH BATTLES UPON THE TOMBIGBY. 29& 

and tracing upon the ground additions which he directed to be 
made to the defenses. Then, leaving Captain De Berthel in com- 
mand of Fort " Tombecbe," with a garrison of thirty Frenchmen 
and twenty Swiss, provisions to last for the remainder 
of the year, and an abundance of merchandise intended June 3 
to be used in commerce with the Indians, the governor 
entered his boats, and continued the voyage until they were 
moored at the town of Mobile. 

But where was the brave and unfortunate D'Artaguette? 
Why did not his army join Bienville at the Chickasaw towns? 
The reader will presently see. That officer had assembled the 
tribes of the Illinois at Fort Chatres, and had made them 
acquainted with the plans of Governor Bienville. With these 
Indians, and others which De Vincennes had collected upon the 
Wabash, together with thirty soldiers and one hundred volun- 
teers, D'Artaguette floated clown the Mississippi river until he 
reached the last of the Chickasaw Bluffs. He had expected to 
have been joined by De Grandpre, who commanded at the Arkan- 
sas, and that officer had sent twenty-eight warriors of that tribe 
to ascertain whether D'Artaguette was at Ecores a Prudhomme. 
These scouts were instructed to return with the necessary 
information; but upon arriving at that place, and rinding that 
D'Artaguette had set out upon his expedition, they hastened to 
follow him into the enemy's country. Disembarking at the 
Chickasaw Bluffs, D'Artaguette marched across the country, at 
a slow pace, hoping to be overtaken by De Grandpre, and also by 
Montcherval, who had been ordered to bring on his Cahokias and 
Mitchigamias. Pursuing the march in an eastward direction, 
D'Artaguette advanced among the sources of the Yalo- 
busha, and there encamped on the 9th May. He was 1736 
but a few miles east of the site of the present town of May 
Pontotoc, in Mississippi, near the place where he and 
Bienville were to have met each other, and not more than thirty 
miles from the spot where the latter, afterwards, moored his 



296 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

boats, — near the present Cotton Gin Port. D'Artaguette sought, 
in vain, for intelligence of the commander-in-chief. He was 
assisted by Lieutenant Vincennes, the young Voisin, and Senac, 
a holy father of the order of Jesuits, in arranging and conducting 
the spy companies, who roamed the forests in search of Bienville. 
I Jut nothing could be heard of him until a courier brought to 
D'Artaguette a letter, in which he was informed that unexpected 
delays would prevent Bienville from reaching the Chickasaw 
towns before the last of April. The red allies had become impa- 

tienc, for by this time, D'Artaguette had occupied his 
May 20 camp for eleven days. He now resolved to advance upon 

the Chickasaws, as his allies had threatened to abandon 
him if he did not soon bring on the attack. They represented 
to him that the advance town was inhabited by the refugee 
Natchez, and by taking it they could return to their encampment 
with an abundance of provisions, where they might remain 
entrenched until Bienville's arrival. This plausible proposition 
found advocates in the French officers. The allied forces con- 
sisted of one hundred and thirty Frenchmen, and three hundred 
and sixty Indians. The French advanced within a mile of the 
village, on Palm Sunday. Frontigny was here left at the camp, 
with thirty men, in charge of all the baggage. D'Artaguette 
ad vanced rapidly to the attack, which he presently brought on 
with his accustomed gallantry. At that moment, thirty English- 
men and five hundred Indians, who were concealed behind an 
adjacent hill, rose up and fell upon the invaders with such im- 
petuosity that the Miamis and the Illinois fled from the battle 
field. Indeed, all the Indians took to their heels, except a few 
Iroquois and Arkansas, who behaved in the bravest manner. 

The guns of the enemy brought to the ground Lieu- 

1736 tenant St. Ange, Ensigns De Coulanges, De La Graviere 

May 20 and De Courtigny, with six of the militia officers. By 

this time the French were almost surrounded, but 
they still continued to keep their position. Presently, Captain 



THE FRENCH BATTLES UPON THE TOMBIGBY. 297 

Des Essarts was seen to fall, and also Lieutenant Langlois 
and Ensign Levieux. So great was the loss of the French, in 
this short, but desperate conflict, that D'Artaguette determined 
to retreat to the camp, for the double purpose of saving his 
baggage, and of being reinforced by the men he had left 
there ; but the retreat could not be conducted with the least order, 
for the Chick asaws were close upon theii heels, and at length 
again surrounded them. D'Artaguette now fell covered with 
wounds, and was taken prisoner, together with Father Senac, 
Vincennes, Du Tisne, an officer of the regulars, a captain of the 
militia, named Lalande, and some soldiers, making nineteen in all. 
Not one man would have escaped the clutches of the 
brave Chickasaws if a violent storm, which now arose, 1736 
had not prevented further pursuit. It was a great vie- May 20 
tory ; all the provisions and baggage of D'Artaguette 
fell into the hands of the Chickasaws, besides eleven horses, four 
hundred and fifty pounds of powder and twelve hundred bullets. 
With this powder and these bullets they afterwards shot down 
the troops of Bienville, as we have already seen. 

Voisin, a youth of only sixteen years of age, conducted the 
retreat for many miles, without food or water, while his men car- 
ried such of the wounded as they were able to bear. This noble 
youth, one of the bravest that ever lived, stood by the 
side of D'Artaguette in all this bloody engagement. At May 
length, on the second day of his painful retreat, he halted 
his men at a place where Montcherval, who was following D'Ar- 
taguette with one hundred and sixty Indians, had encamped. 
The latter, collecting the fragments of the army, fell back to the 
Mississippi river. 

At first the unfortunate D'Artaguette and his equally unfor- 
tunate companions in captivity were treated with kindness and 
attention by the Chickasaws, who dressed their wounds. Hopes 
of a high ransom prompted this conduct, so unusual with Indians. 
They expected not only to receive money from Bienville, who was 



298 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



known to be approaching, but imagined that by holding these 

men as prisoners the governor would consent to leave 

1736 their towns unattacked. But at length they received 

May intelligence that Bienville had been defeated, and they 

now resolved to sacrifice the prisoners. They led them 

out to a neighboring field, and D'Artaguette, Father Senac, Vin- 

cennes, and fifteen others were pinioned to stakes and burned to 

death ! One of the soldiers was spared to carry the news of the 

triumph of the Chickasaws and the death of these unhappy men 

to the mortified Bienville.* 

The Chickasaws have never been conquered. They could 
not be defeated by De Soto with his Spanish army in 1541 ; by 
Bienville, with his French army and Southern Indians, in 1736; 
by D'Artaguette, with his French army and Northern Indians ; 
by the Marquis De Vaudreuil, with his French troops and Choc- 
taws, in ] 7b'2 ; nor by the ('reeks, Cherokees, Kickapoos, Shawnees 
and Choctaws, who continually waged war against them. No! 
they were " the bravest of the brave ; " and even when they had 
emigrated to the territory of Arkansas, not many years ago, they 
soon subdued some tribes who attacked them in that quarter. 

Young Men of Northwestern Alabama and Northeastern 
Mississippi! Remember, that the bravest race that ever lived, 
once occupied the country which you now inhabit — once fished 
in your streams, and chased the elk over your vast plains. Re- 
member, that whenever that soil, which you now tread, was 
pressed by the feet of foes, it was not only bravely defended, but 
drenched w 7 ith the blood of the invaders. Will you ever disgrace 
that soil, and the memory of its first occupants, by submitting to 
injustice and oppression, and finally to invasion? We unhesitat- 
ing give the answer for you — " No — no — never ! " 

* MS. letters obtained from Paris. I have also consulted Gayarre's Histoire de la 
Louisiane, vol. 1, pp. 311-331, which contains the despatches of Bienville to the French 
Court in relation to these battles. Also, Dumont's A>emoires Historiques sur la Louis- 
iane— Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. 3— The Southwest, by Alexander B. 
Meek, of Mobile— Martin's Louisiana — Stodart's Louisiana— Monette's History of the 
Mississippi Valley, vol. 1, pp. 283-288— Louisiana, its Colonial History and Romance, by 
Charles Gayarre : New York, 1851 ; pp. 476-495. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Bienville Leaves the Colony — His Character. 

In our investigations of the French Colonial History of Ala- 
bama and Mississippi, for a period of sixteen years from the con- 
clusion of the campaigns of Bienville and D'Artaguette, in the 
Chickasaw nation, we find but little to interest the reader. The 
same difficulties as heretofore continued to exist with the Indian 
tribes, with the colonial authorities, and with the English of Car- 
olina. Bienville began, soon after his defeat near Pontotoc, to 
lose favor with the King and the West India Company. To 
recover the ground which he had lost in their confidence, he 
exerted himself to organize another expedition against the 
Chickasaws ; and having perfected it, he sailed up the Missis- 
sippi to Fort St. Francis, and disembarking, brought 
his army to a place near the mouth of the Margot or 1 740 
Wolf river. Here his troops remained a long time, March 
until, reduced by death from various diseases, and by 
famine, he was left with but few soldiers. Finally, with these 
M. Celeron was ordered to march against the Chickasaw 
towns. As he advanced, the Chickasaws, supposing that a large 
French army had invaded their country, sued for peace. Celeron 
took advantage of their mistake, and immediately came to terms 
with them. The Chickasaws promised to expel the English trad- 
ers from their country, and, from that time, to remain true to the 
French interest. When the result of this expedition, which ter- 
minated forever the military operations of Bienville, became 
known in France, the governor began to receive despatches dic- 
tated in a spirit of much harshness and censure. The pride of 

299 



300 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Bienville was wounded — his spirit was humbled ; and, being too 

sensible a man to retain a position the duties of which 

1742 it was believed he had failed creditably to perform, he 

Mar. 26 now requested to be recalled. He wrote to the Minister 

as follows : 

" If success had always corresponded with my application to 
the affairs of the government and administration of the colony, 
and with my zeal for the service of the King, I would have re- 
joiced in devoting the rest of my days to such objects ; but, 
through a sort of fatality, which, for some time past, has ob- 
stinately thwarted my best concerted plans, I have frequently 
lost the fruit of my labors, and, perhaps some ground in your ex- 
cellency's confidence, therefore have I come to the conclusion, 
that it is no longer necessary for me to struggle against my ad- 
verse fortune. I hope that better luck may attend my successor. 
During the remainder of my stay here, I will give all my atten- 
tion to smooth the difficulties attached to the office which I shall 
deliver up to him ; and it is to me a subject of self-gratulation 
that I shall transmit to him the government of the colony, when 
its affairs are in a better condition than they have ever been.* 

Bienville was, unquestionably, not only a great and good 
man, but a modest one. We find in this letter none of that dis- 
gusting cant indulged in by American politicians and American 
officeholders, when they lose their places. In these days it is 
common for such men to say that they have been treated with 
ingratitude by the government, if they are removed from an 
office — or by the people, if an opposing candidate is elected to 
Congress, and to whine and complain about having "grown gray 
in the service of their country," when, in truth, they have lived 
at their ease and feasted upon the contents of the public treas- 
ury, time out of mind. Some of these men have received over a 
hundred thousand dollars for occupying seats in the Senate and 

* Louisiana, its Colonial History and Romance, by Charles Gayarre, pp. 526-527. See 
also Bienville's letter in French, contained in Histoire de la "Louisiane, par Charles 
Gayarre. 



BIENVILLE LEAVES THE COLONY HIS CHARACTER. 301 

the House of Representatives, and much larger sums for filling 
the office of President, and for foreign missions ; and yet, after all 
these favors, from the government and the people, they complain 
of being treated with ingratitude, if they lose their position. The 
people who permitted them so long to hold these trusts, often to 
their own injury, should never be charged with the crime of in- 
gratitude ; but the recipients of all these political favors should 
ever feel grateful, and retire with dignity and grace, like the 
good and wise Bienville.* 

The successor of Bienville, the Marquis De Vaudreuil, arrived 
at New Orleans, and shortly afterwards the former sailed for 
France. Although sixty-five years of age when he left the col- 
ony, Bienville lived to the advanced age of ninety. What a con- 
stitution for a man who had passed through such trials and 
hardships ! In the whole of the twenty-five years that he passed 
in France, he never, for one moment, forgot the colony in Ala- 
bama, Mississippi and Louisiana. He nursed it in his remem- 
brance, as does the aged grandfather who is far off from his 
beloved descendants. He sympathized with its misfortunes, and 
exulted in its triumphs and prosperity. Whenever a vessel, 
from the colony, reached the shores of France, Bienville was the 
first to go on board, and learn tidings of his beloved bantling. 
And when the French King, towards the last of Bien- 
ville's days, ceded the colony of Louisiana to Spain, the 1743 
good old man implored him with tears in his eyes, not May 10 
to place the French subjects of the colony under the 
control of the tyrannical Spaniards. 

Another distinguished person departed from our country 
about the time that Bienville sailed for France — Diron 
D'Artaguette, the royal commissary, who had lived so 1742 
long at Mobile. As we have seen, he came to our coun- 
try in 1708, where he filled several high offices until 1742. It 

* If Alabama should, hereafter, change the names of any of her present counties, or 
form new ones, we very respectfully suggest that one be named "DeSoto," and another 



302 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

was his younger brother whom the Chickasaws burned to death, 
near Pontotoc, in the present State of Mississippi. It is not 
known whether the royal .commissary and Bienville ever again 
became friends. They ought, really, never to have disagreed, as 
they were both men of ability, honor and fidelity. 

The colony, at length, became prosperous. Capitalists em- 
barked in agriculture and commerce, after the restrictions upon 
the latter had been set aside by the King. Cargoes of flour, 
hides, pork, bacon, leather, tallow, bear's oil and lumber found 
their way to Europe. These articles came chiefly from the 
Illinois and Wabash countries, and the inhabitants of that 
region, in return, received from New Orleans and Mobile, rice, 
indigo, tobacco, sugar and European fabrics. But a war broke 
out between France and Great Britain, and the Chickasaws, 
again becoming the allies of the English, the Marquis De 
Vaudreuil determined to invade their country. He organized 
his army, and embarking in boats, at Mobile, made his way 
up the Tombigby river. After resting a few days at Fort 
"Tombecbe," he renewed his voyage until he reached the 
place where Bienville, sixteen years before, had disembarked 
his army. Marching from this point with his troops, com- 
posed of French and Choctaws, he reached the Chicka- 
1752 saw towns, and endeavoring to storm them, lost many 
of his men; and was finally beaten, and compelled to 
retreat to his boats near Cotton Gin Port. All he accomplished 
was to destroy the fields and burn some cabins of the enemy. 
Arriving at Fort " Tombecbe," he caused it to be enlarged and 
strengthened — leaving there a strong detachment to prevent the 
incursions of the Chickasaws. Like Bienville, the Marquis re- 

" Hiknville." The former was the first to discover our territory, and the latter was the 
French governor of it for forty years ! We have a sufficient number of counties, rivers, 
creeks and towns bearing Indian names to preserve a remembrance of the former resi- 
dence of the Red Men here. We have counties also named for politicians and warriors, 
but unlike Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia, we have not one named for a person 
whose name would lead us to think of the history of our country. 



BIENVILLE LEAVES THE COLONY HIS CHARACTER. 303 



turned to Mobile, not at all satisfied with the laurels which he 
had won in his expedition against the Chickasaws .* 



* It has been stated to me, by several persons, that cannon have been found in the 
Tombigby, at or near Cotton Gin Port, and it has been supposed that they were left there 
by De Soto. De Soto brought from Cuba but one piece of artillery, and that he left be- 
hind him in Florida. If any such cannon have been found in the Tombigby, they be- 
longed to the Marquis De Vaudreuil. He carried with him a few pieces to operate 
against the Chickasaws upon the occasion just referred to. After he had fought the 
Chickasaws, and returned to his boats, he found that the Tombigby had fallen consid- 
erably, and it is probable he threw these cannon into the river to lighten his boats. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Horrible Death of Beaudrot and the Swiss Soldiers. 

In 1757, Kerlerec was the governor of the colony. He had 
succeeded the Marquis De Vaudreuil, who had been transferred 
to the government of New France. Some of th3 officers, sta- 
tioned at the different posts, were great tyrants. One of them, 
named Duroux, was sent to command a detachment of 
1757 troops of the Swiss regiment of Halwyl, who were sta- 
tioned at Cat Island, which, we believe, is now within 
the jurisdiction of the State of Alabama. He forced his sol- 
diers to work his gardens, and to burn coal and lime, which 
he disposed of in trade for his own emolument. Some of 
them, who refused to work for him, he caused to be arrested, 
stripped and tied naked to trees, where, for hour?, the mos- 
quitoes tortured them with their poisonous stings. These sol- 
diers, repairing to New Orleans, received no satisfaction from 
Governor Kerlerec, who presently sent them back to Duroux. 
That officer was now still more tyrannical, and in addition to 
his other severe usage, gave them no meat to eat, and fed 
them upon stale bread. One day he entered a boat, and was 
rowed to an adjacent island, for the purpose of hunting deer. 
Returning in the evening, a party of the soldiers prepared them- 
selves to kill him, and, as soon as he put his foot upon shore, he 
was instantly despatched, by the discharge of several guns. His 
body, stripped of its apparel, was contemptuously thrown into 
the sea. They then rifled the King's stores, and for once fared 
sumptuously. Becoming masters of the island, the soldiers set 
at liberty an inhabitant, named Beaudrot, who had been 

304 



HORRIBLE DEATH OF BEAUDROT AND SWISS SOLDIERS. 305 

unjustly imprisoned by Duroux. He had been long in 1757 
the colony, and was often employed upon dangerous 
missions in the Creek nation. Indeed, he well understood the 
language of these Indians, besides that of neighboring tribes. 
Often had he made journeys to Fort Toulouse, upon the Coosa, 
both in boats and upon foot. He was a great favorite of Bien- 
ville. Beaudrot was a powerful man, as to strength, and almost 
a giant in size, and these qualities, together with his bravery and 
prowess, endeared him to the Indians. The soldiers, who now 
released him from prison, compelled him to conduct them to- 
wards Georgia. Advancing rapidly through the woods, after 
they had touched the main land in their boats, the veteran 
Beaudrot led them around Mobile, up to the Tombigby, and, cross- 
ing that stream, and afterwards the Alabama, in canoes which 
belonged to the Indians, Beaudrot conducted them from thence 
to Coweta, upon the Chattahoochie. Here he was dismissed by 
the fugitives, whom he compelled to give him a certificate, stat- 
ing that he had been forced to act as their guide, and was not in 
any way concerned in the killing of Duroux. 

Some of these soldiers, who pursued their journey, made 
safe their retreat to the English in Georgia ; but others loitered 
in Coweta and Cusseta enjoying the hospitality of the Indians. 
In the meantime, Montberaut, who then commanded at Fort 
Toulouse, had been made acquainted with the murder of Duroux 
and the flight of the soldiers. Hearing that some of them were 
upon the Chattahoochie, a small detachment of soldiers 
and some Indians, under Beaudin, were sent across the 1757 
country, to arrest them. Beaudin returned with three 
of the men, who, after being chained in the prison for a week, 
were put in canoes, and conveyed down the Alabama river, to 
Mobile, and there thrown into the dungeon, to await trial. 

Beaudrot arrived in Mobile, and was quietly living in his 
hut, when two of his sons, who had just arrived from New 
Orleans, were the innocent cause of his arrest. Governor 

20 



306 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Kerlerec sent by them a sealed package to De Ville, the com- 
mandant at Mobile, authorizing his imprisonment. The poor 
fellow knew nothing of the arrest of the soldiers, until his 
eyes fell upon them in prison. Notwithstanding that he ex- 
hibited, upon the trial, his certificate, which declared his in- 
nocence of the murder, and which stated that he was com- 
pelled to facilitate the escape of the authors of it, a court 
martial condemned him to die. The soldiers, of course, were 
also condemned to share the same fate. As soon as Governor 
Kerlerec confirmed the judgment, the innocent and unfortunate 
Beaudrot was led forth and broken upon a wheel ! ^The people 
of Mobile were shocked at the spectacle, for some of their lives 
had been saved by the sufferer. Not many years before that 
Beaudrot, while trading in the town of Autauga among the Ala- 
bamas, ransomed a P'rench boy who had been captured near 
Mobile by the Lower Creeks of the Chattahoochie, and who had 
sold him to those Indians. Beaudrot paid away all his profits for 
the boy, and immediately carried him to Mobile and restored him 
to his uncle. On another occasion, a party of the Lower Creeks 

had taken a Frenchman, who had gone up to his little 
1757 plantation on the Tensaw river. They stripped the man, 

and, having pinioned him well, took the trail for the 
Chattahoochie. It so happened that Beaudrot was returning upon 
that trail from Fort Toulouse, whither Bienville had some weeks 
before despatched him with a letter to the French command- 
ant. Night drew apace, and the wearied Beaudrot sought repose 
upon the pine straw, behind a log, without a spark of fire. It was 
his custom when alone to sleep in the dark, for fear of being dis- 
covered by Indian enemies. He lay quietly, with his head resting 
upon his knapsack. Presently three stout warriors made their 
appearance, with the Frenchman to whom we have just alluded. 
They presently collected lightwood, which lay in profusion 
around, and kindled a large fire. Ten of the party, after the cap- 
ture of the Frenchman, went in another direction, to see if they 



HORRIBLE DEATH OF BEAUDROT AND SWISS SOLDIERS. 307 

could not do more mischief in the French settlements, and, en- 
trusting the prisoner to the three warriors who now guarded him, 
had not yet overtaken them. The fire threw a glare over the 
woods, and Beaudrot would have been discovered had he not, 
fortunately, been behind a log. The warriors eat their supper, 
and, tying the Frenchman to a tree, where he would have been 
compelled to stand all night upon his feet, they dropped off to 
sleep. The heart of the generous Beaudrot beat quick : he longed 
to rescue the man, whom he well knew, but endeavored to com- 
pose himself. After a while, when the wearied warriors snored 
in profound^sleep, he cautiously approached. His first intention 
was to unloose the prisoner and place a pistol in his hand, when 
they would both instantly fall upon the Indians; but a moment's 
reflection warned him that if he approached the prisoner first the 
latter would be startled and cry aloud, which would arouse the 
savages. This reflection now altered his plans, and he now crept 
up to the camp, keeping a large pine tree between him and the 
warriors. Two of them lay together. Beaudrot's carbine was 
heavily charged, and raising himself suddenly he fired, and the 
warriors were both killed. The third one rose up and rushed at 
Beaudrot with his hatchet, having in his haste forgotten his gun. 
Beaudrot had already a pistol in his hand, and now discharged 
its contents into the stomach of the Creek, who whooped and fell 
dead. Rushing to the tree he untied his friend, who immediately 
sank in the arms of his generous deliverer. But they had no 
time to tarry here. The rescued prisoner informed Beaudrot 
that the other party were probably upon their trail. They im- 
mediately left the spot, and reaching the Alabama river Beau- 
drot constructed a raft, on which he now placed the prisoner 
and they both floated down the river some distance, and landed 
on the western side. He tore the raft to pieces, and set the frag- 
ments adrift. Beaudrot took all this precaution to keep the In- 
dians from tracking him. About this time it was daylight, and 
he and the Frenchman were in a swamp, and quite secure. Beau- 



308 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



drot now drew forth his bottle of brandy, and gave his compan- 
ion a drink, which did much to revive him. They also shared 
some bread and dried venison. After they had rested here some 
hours, Beaudrot and his companion arose, and, after a tedious 
march through the woods, subsisting upon what game Beaudrot 
could kill, he arrived safe in Mobile, with the Frenchman. 

Such a man was Beaudrot, whom the French authorities in 
Mobile broke upon a wheel ! His life was worth a thousand such 
lives as that of the tyrannical wretch whom he was accused of 
having killed. On the same day that he was thus made to suffer 
death, in the most barbarous and excruciating manner, one of the 
fugitives, a French soldier, was also broken upon a wheel, while 
two poor Swiss soldiers were subjected to a still more horrible 
fate. The authorities placed each one of them in a long narrow 
box, like a coffin, nailed it up, and then cut the box in two with 
a cross-cut saw* 



* French MS. letters in my possession, obtained from Paris. See also Bossu's Travels, 
vol. 1, pp. 320-325. But Hossu incorrectly states that these men suffered death in New 
Orleans. Some years previously, Fort Conde, a large brick fortress, had been built at 
Mobile, and it was in front of the gate of that fort that these men met such a terrible 
death. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Bossu's Visit to the French Forts Upon the Alabama and 

Tombigby Rivers. 

Governor Kerlerec having ordered Bossu, a Captain of the 
French Marines, to depart from New Orleans with a detachment, 
destined for Fort Toulouse, among the Creek Indians, 
that officer reached Mobile, and was there received by 1758 
D'Aubant, adjutant of that place. The latter, the same Dec. 20 
officer who married the Russian Princess, and lived 
with her in Mobile, as we have seen, had recently been appointed 
to the command of Fort Toulouse, and was instructed to accom- 
pany Bossu to that point ; but sickness, for a while, 
detained him in Mobile. In the meantime, Bossu em- 1759 
barked his soldiers and Choctaws in several boats. Af- March 
ter a tedious voyage of fifty days, up the Alabama river, 
he moored his boats at the French fort, upon the Coosa. Here he had 
the pleasure of meeting D'Aubant, who, having recovered from 
his indisposition, had come from Mobile on horseback, across the 
vast wilderness. Montberaut, who was still in command of the 
fort, received D'Aubant with politeness, and, for three months 
previous to his departure to Mobile, instructed him in regard to 
the condition of the fort, and of the policy which it was 
necessary for him to pursue with the tribes around. 1759 
Montberaut was an officer of high reputation among the April 
Creeks and Alabamas, and " was remarkable for the 
spirited speeches which he delivered, in a manner analogous to 
the way of thinking of these nations."* He despised the Jesuits, 

* Bossu's Travels, vol. 1, p. 228. 

309 



JMO HISTORY OP AI.AIiAMA. 



and, us they were formally stationed at Port Toulouse, he always 
lived upon bad terms with them. Father Le Roi, one of these 
missionaries, wrote a Letter to the Governor, in which be abused 
Montberaut in unmeasured terms, and advised his removal. The 
soldier to whom the letter was delivered, and who was to convey 

it to Mobile, banded it to Montberaut, who noted its contents. 
When the Jesuit met him the next morning, he showed him many 
civilties, as Bossu says, *' according to the political principles of 
these good fathers." The commandant asked him If he had 
written anything against him. The Jesuit, not suspecting that 
his letter was in the officer's hands, assured him, by all that was 
sacred, that he had not. Montberaut then called Father i>e Roi 

an Lm posit or and eheat, and fixed his letter at the gate of the 
fort. Since that time no .Jesuits have been among the Creeks 
and Ala bam as.* 

When Bossu visited Fort Toulouse, upon the Coosa, he found 
that the Creeks and Alabamas were happy people. They lived 
with ease, had an abundance around them, and were at peace 
with the surrounding savages. While at the fort, Bossu heard a 
Chief deliver the following beautiful speech : 

"Young men and warriors! Do not disregard the Master 
OF LlPB. The sky is blue— the sun is without spots — the weather 
is fair — the ground is white — everything is quiet on the face of 
the earth, and the blood of men ought not to lie spilt on it. We 
must beg the Master ok Life to preserve it pure and spotless 

among the nations that surround us." 

Not only were the Creeks and Alabamas at peace with other 

nations, at this time, bu*, gave evidences of warm and 

17. r >!) generous hospitality. They thronged the banks of the 

April river, which now meanders along the borders of the 

counties of Autauga, Montgomery, Dallas and Lowndes, 

as Kdssii slowly made his way up the beautiful stream — greeted 

him with friendly salutations, and offered him provisions, such 

* Bossu's Travels, vol. 1, p. £29. 



BOSStj'S riSIl UP AI.AI'.AMA A.M) T0MBIGBY CIVI.) .'ill 



as bread, roasted turkeys, broiled venison, pancakes baked with 
nut oil, and deers' tongues, together with baskets full of eggs 
of the fowl and turtle. The Great Spibii had blessed them 
with a magnificent river, abounding in fish; with delicious 
and cool fountains, gushing out from the foot of the bills; 
with rich lands, that produced without cultivation; and with 
vast forests, abounding in game of every description. But 
now the whole scene is changed. The ountry is no Longer 

half SO beautiful; the waters of Alabama begin to be dis- 
colored; the forests have been cut down; steamers hi 

destroyed the finny race; deer bound not over the plain; the 

lluggish bear has ceased to wind through the swamps; the 

bloody panther does not spring upon his prey; wolves hi 
ceased to howl upon the hills; birds cannot be seen in the 

branches of the trees; graceful warriors guide DO longer their 

well-shaped canoe-: and beautiful squaws Loiter not upon the 

plain, nor pick the delicious berries. Now, vast fields of cotton, 

noisy steamers, huge rafts of Lumber, towns reared for busin< 
disagreeable corporation laws, harassing courts of justice, mills, 

factories, and everything else that is calculated to destroy the 
beauty Of B country and to rob man of bis quiet and native inde- 
pendence, present themselves to our view. 

The heart yearns to behold, once more, such a country as 

Alabama was the first time we saw it, when a boy. Hut where 
can we now go, that we shall not find the busy American, wilh 

keen de-ire to destroy everything which nature has made lovelj ? 
Fort Toulouse, at various times, ha/d many commandants, 

who filled each others' places according to the will or whim of 
the colonial governor and the different companies. At one time, 
the Chevalier irKrnville commanded here, when a young warrior 
killed a French soldier, and fled to the forests. According to an 

agreement formed between the French and the Indians, when the 

fort was first established, the killing of a person was to be atoned 

for by the immediate execution of him who committed the deed, 



312 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



whether he was a Frenchman or an Indian. D'Ernville demanded 
the Indian of the Chiefs, who stated that they were unable to find 
him. He next required that the mother of the guilty warrior 
should be made to expiate the crime. They replied that the 
mother had not killed the Frenchman ; but the officer only 
reminded them of the agreement, and further, of the previous 
customs of their country. Deeply embarrassed, in consequence 
of the escape of the criminal, and unwilling that the old woman 
should be put to death, the Chiefs, to compromise the case, 
offered the French officer furs and horse-loads of booty. But 
D'Ernville was unyielding, and had the mother brought out 
before Fort Toulouse, to suffer death. Her relatives followed 
her with sad countenances, one of them exclaiming, in a loud 
voice, « My mother-in-law dies courageously, as she has not 
struck the blow." In a few minutes the son rushed through the 
canebrake, boldly walked up to D'Ernville, gave himself up, saved 
the life of his mother, and was then — killed! 

One day it was announced at Fort Toulouse that the Empe- 
ror of Coweta, a town on the Chattahoochie, was advanc- 
1759 ing to pay the French a visit. Bossu walked some dis- 
May tance upon the pathway, towards the present Grey's 
Ferry, which was, at that early day, a great crossing- 
place for the Indians. He was accompanied by some soldiers, and 
to surprise the Emperor, they fired their muskets as soon as Bossu 
took him by the hand, which was also the signal for a general dis- 
charge of the artillery from the fort. The woods presently re- 
sounded with the noise of the cannon, and the Emperor felt that 
he was greatly honored. He was mounted on a Spanish horse, 
with an English saddle, which was bordered with a beautiful spot- 
ted skin. He alighted from his horse, and advanced to the fort 
with an air of great dignity and importance. His costume was so 
singular as to eKcite the subdued risibilities of the Frenchmen 
who marched behind him. He wore on his head a crest of black 
plumes ; his coat was scarlet, with English cuffs, and beset with 



BOSSU S VISIT UP ALABAMA AND TOMBIGBY RIVERS. 313 

tinsel lace; he had neither waistcoat nor breeches; under his 
coat he wore a white linen shirt. His attendants were naked, 
and painted in a variety of colors. Being only eighteen years of 
age, the Emperor was accompanied by his Regent, a noble and 
wise old man, who ruled the Lower Creeks during his minority. 
Wheu they reached the fort, the old man delivered a speech to 
D'Aubant, which was reported by Laubene, the King's interpreter, 
who had been long stationed at that place. 

Being anxious to alienate the Lower Creeks, upon the Chat- 
tahoochie, from the relations which they had formed with the 
Georgians, D'Aubant paid the visitors unusual attention. 
The next day, at ten o'clock, he received the Emperor, 1759 
his War Chief, Regent, Doctor, and followers, in consid- May 
erable state. They were marched before the officers 
and soldiers, who were all drawn up in full uniform. At noon 
they were conducted to the dining table, where they and the of- 
ficers took seats together. The Emperor was much puzzled in 
what manner to employ the knife and fork, and was extremely 
awkward and embarrassed. But the old Regent seized the back- 
bone and breast of a turkey, and broke them in two with his 
fingers, saying, " The Master of Life made fingers before knives 
and forks were made." 

Towards the end of the repast, a servant of the Emperor, 
who stood behind his chair, perceived that the French ate mus- 
tard with their boiled meat. He asked Beaudin what it was that 
they relished so much? This officer, the same who went to the 
Chattahoochie, and arrested the soldiers who fled from Cat 
Island, and who had lived forty years in the Creek nation, re- 
plied that the French were by no means covetous of what they 
possessed. He handed the Indian a spoonful of the mustard, 
who swallowed it. He thereupon made many ridiculous contor- 
tions, giving several whoops, and affording the whole company 
much merriment. The Indian imagined himself to be poisoned, 



314 HISTORY OP ALABAMA. 

and D'Aubant, tbe commandant, could only appease bim by a 
glass of delightful brandy.* 

About this time the celebrated Russian Princess, whom, as 
we have seen, D'Aubant had long since married, at Mo- 
1759 bile, becoming tired of his protracted absence, deter- 
June mined to join him, which, indeed, had been planned when 
the chevalier left her at Mobile. Going on board a boat 
which was starting for Fort Toulouse, this remarkable and roman- 
tic woman, after a long voyage, arrived at this place with her lit- 
tle daughter and a female servant. She was affectionately re- 
ceived by D'Aubant, and had many lively adventures to relate of 
her passage up the Alabama. Not having pleasant quarters in 
the fort, a cabin was built for her in the field, not far from the 
fort, to which was attached a brick chimney, the fragments of 
which still remain there. Here this gay woman was accustomed 
to converse with the Indians and prattle with their pick- 
1759 aninnies. So then, citizens of Wetumpka, there was 
June once living within three miles of your city a Russian 
Princess, so represented to be, who had married the son 
of Peter the Great ! f 

While at Fort Toulouse Bossu received an order to repair to 
Mobile, for the purpose of serving under the orders of De Ville, 
the King's lieutenant, stationed at that place. He entered a boat, 
and after a prosperous voyage reached Mobile. Some time after- 
wards he was ordered to command a convoy to Fort " Tombecbe." 
He left Mobile with three boats, in which were soldiers and Mo- 
bile Indians. He entered the Tombigby river after a voyage of 
seven days, which now can be performed in four hours. 
1759 Mooring his boats near some land a little elevated above 
Aug. the water he pitched his camp, and prepared to pass the 
night on shore, as was the custom of all voyagers of that 
day. While wrapped in a corner of his tent cloth, and reposing 

* Travels through that part of North America formerly called Louisiana, by M. Bossu, 
Captain in the French Marines. Vol. 1, pp. 226-278. 
t French MS. letters in my possession, obtained from Paris. 



BOSSU'S VISIT UP ALABAMA AND TOMBIGBY RIVERS. 315 

upon his bear's skin, with a string of fine fish, which he designed 
for breakfast, lying at his feet, he was awakened from a profound 
sleep by finding himself suddenly carried away by an extraordi- 
nary force. Terribly alarmed he cried out for help. An enormous 
alligator, intent upon seizing the string of fish, had caught in his 
teeth a portion of the tent cloth, and was hurrying Bossu, tent 
cloth, bear skin, fish and all, rapidly to his accustomed elements. 
Fortunately, just before the alligator plunged into the river Bossu 
saved himself and the bear skin, but the fish and the tent cloth 
disappeared with the monster. 

The voyage up the river was remarkably tedious, for it being 
at a low stage Bossu was often compelled to drag his boats over 
the bars. He camped upon the banks every night, and to pro- 
tect himself as much as possible from the mosquitoes he placed 
canes in the ground, and making their tops meet by bending 
them over formed an arch. Over this rude frame he 
threw a linen sheet, and slept ander it most comforta- 1759 
bly, reposing on his bear skin. On one occasion provis- Aug. 
ions got so scarce that Bossu sent out some of his men 
to procure game in the forests. Discovering the nest of a large 
eagle, built in the branches of a lofty tree, the Indians soon 
prostrated the latter with their axes. They obtained from 
this immense nest several fawns, rabbits, wild turkeys, par- 
tridges and wild pigeons, together with four eaglets.* The 
old eagles fought desperately for their young, but the fam- 
isbed party bore off the nest and the abundance of game 
which it contained, all of which had recently been taken for 
the eaglets to devour. Bossu and his party lived sumptu- 
ously during the remainder of their voyage, which was at length 
terminated at Fort " Tombecbe," the site of which is now famil- 
iarly known as Jones' Bluff. De Grandpre, a Canadian of much 

* Bossu must be mistaken as to the number of eaglets. According to my reading of 
natural history, I am under the impression that not more than two eaglets are ever 
found in the same nest. 




>> 

& 



a 









«H 




a 




t 




S3 








P 




>> 




£ 








O 




fl 




H 




a 




'5 


-r 
K3 


c£ 




09 


^ 


,jCj 


c 


42 


p 


A 


>J 


fl 





he 


£ 


B 


o 






+3 




4^ 


r^ 


9 





O 


o 


'd ^ 










£ 




bfl 
















— 












93 




O 




X 





ce 

be 

a 
W 

OS 

a 



BOSSIES VISIT UP ALABAMA AND TOMBIGBY RIVERS. 317 

bravery, and possessed of much experience in relation to the 
habits and customs of the Indians, commanded the gar- 
rison at this post. Bossu's journal, kept at this place, 1759 
is wholly occupied with the manners and customs of Aug. 
the Choctaws. As we have already referred to him, 
upon this subject, in our description of that tribe, we will omit 
here what would be a mere repetition, only submitting to the 
reader the following extract : 

" I saw an Indian of the Choctaws who had lately been bap- 
tized. As he had no luck in hunting, he imagined himself be- 
witched. He went immediately to Father Lefevre, the Jesuit 
missionary, who was stationed at Fort ' Tombecbe,' and who had 
lately converted him. He told him that his medicine was good 
for nothing, for, since he had practiced it upon him, he could kill 
no deer. He therefore desired the priest to take oft* his enchant- 
ment. The Jesuit, in order to avoid the resentment of this In- 
dian, acted as if he had annihilated the baptismal ceremony. 
Some time after this, the Indian killed a deer, and, thus think- 
ing himself forever free from the enchantment, was a most happy 
fellow."* 

But the colony Louisiana, so vast in extent, and embracing 
within its limits the territory of our own State, and that of Mis- 
sissippi, was soon to be taken from the French. It has been seen 
that the English and the French had long been competitors for 
the commercial patronage of the Indians, in Lower Louisiana, 
and also for the right to the soil. Far more bitter were their 
jealousies, and far more bloody their feuds upon the borders of 
Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania. For some time, a serious colo- 
nial war had been raging between the North American provinces 
of France and those of England. The French lost post after 
post. The victorious Britons garrisoned them with troops, and 
then captured others. In this manner, the King of France lost 
all his Louisiana possessions, and, with them, the soil of 

* Bossu's Travels, pp. 226-318. 



318 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



1763 Mississippi and Alabama. Spain, too, had allied her- 
Feb. J 8 self with France in the war. Afr length, the three bel- 
ligerent powers concluded a peace, the conditions of 
which are stated in the commencement of the next chapter. 

Agreeably to the provisions of that treaty, Pierre Annibal 
de Ville, lieutenant of the King, commandant at Mobile, 
Oct. and Jean Gabriel Fazende, d'ordonnatuer, delivered that 
town and its dependences to Major Robert Farmer, com- 
missary of His Britannic Majesty. 

Pierre Chabert, captain of infantry and commandant of Fort 
" Tombecbe," and Valentine Duboca, keeper of the mag- 
Nov. 23 azine, delivered that post to Captain Thomas Ford, who 
garrisoned it with English troops. 
The Chevalier Lavnoue, commanding Fort Toulouse, upon 
the Coosa, not being relieved by the appearance of any British 
officer, spiked his cannon, broke off the trunnions or 
1763 ears, and left them in the fort. The river being shal- 
Nov. low, during a dry fall, and having his soldiers and all 
the provisions and military effects to convey to Mobile, 
in boats, he caused to be cast into the Coosa all which the mag- 
azine contained, among which was a large quantity of powder.* 

* Histoire de la Louisiane, par Charles Gayarre, vol. 2, pp. 108-9. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Occupation of Alabama and Mississippi by the English. 

We mentioned, at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, 
that France had surrendered all of her North American pos- 
sessions. Before finally doing so, however, she made 
a secret treaty with Spain, her ally, in which she ceded 1762 
to that power the territory on the western side of the Nov. 3 
Mississippi, extending from the mouth of that river to 
its remotest sources, and including the Island of New Orleans, 
which lay on the eastern side of the great river, and south of the 
Bayou Iberville or Manchac. 

Afterwards, a general peace between the three powers was 
concluded at Paris. France ceded to England all her 
Canadian possessions, and all that portion of Louisiana 1763 
which lies on the eastern side of the Mississippi river, F"eb. 18 
from its sources down to Bayou Iberville, which bayou, 
with a portion of the Amite, and a line through Lakes Maurepas 
and Pontchartrain, to the sea, was to form the southern boundary. 
France also ceded to England the port and river of Mobile. 
Spain ceded to Great Britain her province of Florida. 

The King of England decreed that Florida should 
be formed into two governments, called the provinces of 1763 
East and West Florida ; that the northern line of West Oct. 7 
Florida should be the line of 31°, to run from the Chat- 
tahoochie'to the Mississippi. But afterwards, understanding 
that this line did not embrace the valuable settlements 
at Natchez and above there, he again decreed the boun- 1764 
daries of West Florida to be as follows : a line, to begin Feb. 

319 



320 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



at the mouth of the Yazoo, where that stream joins the Mis- 
sissippi, and to run east to the ( 'hattahoochie; thence down 
the Chattahoochie, to the mouth of the Apalachicola ; thence 
westward, along the coast of the Gulf, and through Lakes Borgne, 
Pontchartrain and Maurepas, up to the river Amite; then along 
Bayou Iberville, to the Mississippi river, and up the middle of 
that river, to the mouth of the Yazoo. 

The territory within these lines, which was known for a 
period, dating from 1764 to 1781, as West Florida, embraced 
a large portion of the present States of Alabama and Mississippi. 
The northern line of the British province of West Florida, thus 
constituted, was that of 32° 28'. While a large portion of Ala- 
bama fell below this line, and was incorporated into British West 
Florida, more than half of our State, in a northern direction 
from the line of 32° 28', was embraced in the British province 
of Illinois. 

The province of Illinois was not only made to embrace more 
than the half of our State, and more than half of Mississippi, but 
also the western portions of Tennessee, Kentucky, and the coun- 
try from thence to Lake Michigan. The province of West Flor- 
ida, which was made to embrace the southern portion of Ala- 
bama, extended from the line of 32° 28', southward, to the Gulf 
of Mexico. We are thus particular in elucidating the 
1764 British division of our State, because, hereafter, the 
reader will be made acquainted with the contentions 
which arose with the Spaniards, Georgians, and the Federal Gov- 
ernment, in relation to it. 

To enable the reader still better to understand this matter, 
the line of 32° 28', which divided the Illinois portions of Alabama 
and Mississippi from the Florida portions of those States, was a 
line which commenced at the mouth of the Yazoo, and thence 
ran eastward, to the Tombigby, striking that river a little below 
the present town of Demopolis, continuing east, touching the 
Alabama river a short distance below the junction of the Coosa 



ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 321 



and Tallapoosa, and terminating on the west bank of the Chatta- 
hoochie, between the present city of Columbus and old Fort 
Mitchell. During the British occupation of our State, its Illinois 
portion was uninhabited by Europeans, excepting a few traders, 
who lived among the Upper Creeks, Cherokees and Chickasaws. 
It is rather singular to reflect that, during this period, the site of 
Montgomery was in British West Florida, while the site of We- 
tumpka was in British Illinois. These sister cities are within 
fifteen miles of each other. 

Between the Mississippi and the Wabash, a population of 
five thousand French and five hundred negroes existed. But 
when the French commandant at Fort Chartres — the capital of 
the Illinois province, opposite St. Louis — surrendered the coun- 
try, in the spring of 1765, co Captain Sterling, ot the British 
army, who came by way of Detroit, at the command of his King, 
to take charge of it, then the French, generally, retired across 
the river, into Spanish territory. 

Captain George Johnstone, of the royal navy, was the first 
British governor of West Florida. He came to Pensa- 
cola, the seat of government, and brought with him a 1764 
British regiment, and many Highlanders, from Charles- Feb. 
ton and New York. He issued his proclamation, defin- 
ing the limits of his jurisdiction, and proclaiming the laws which 
he was instructed to enforce. The civil government was organ- 
ized under military commandants and magistrates. The superior 
courts were formed under English judges. The governor imme- 
diately proceeded to garrison Fort Conde, at Mobile, which he 
now named Fort Charlotte, in honor of the young Queen of Great 
Britain. Soldiers were also thrown into the forts at Baton 
Rouge, and Panmure, at Natchez. A detachment went up to 
the Coosa, and occupied Fort Toulouse ; but it was, in a short 
time, withdrawn, when the works, in a few years, went to ruins. 

When Governor Johnstone arrived in West Florida, there 
came with him a Major Loftus, who had been appointed to 

21 



322 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



take charge of the Illinois country. Early in 1764, that offi- 
cer sailed from Pensacola to New Orleans, and from thence 
to Manchac, where he joined his detachment, which had been 
some time exploring that bayou. With four hundred men he 
began the ascent of the Mississippi in boats and canoes. Reach- 
ing the heights of La Roche a Davion, where Fort Adams was 
afterwards built, he was suddenly attacked by armed Indians, 
from ambuscades on both sides of the river. In this skirmish he 
lost several men and had many wounded. He returned to Man- 
chac, and despatched a captain with twenty men to Mobile, 
through the lakes, who arrived safe at that place. Major Loftus, 

with the residue of his command, dropped down to the 

1764 Balize, and went from thence to Pensacola. Thus was 

Apr. 5 the occupation of the Illinois country for a time prevented 

by the fierce and successful hostility of these Indians.* 
The French population along the east side of the Mississippi 
to the Walnut Hills was considerable, and when they ascertained 
that British laws had been extended over them many retired 
across the river south of Manchac. Others, assured that they 
would not be disturbed, either in the enjoyment of the Catholic 
faith or in their rights and property, remained in the country. 
The English authorities encouraged emigration, and many availed 

themselves of their liberal offers. The first Anglo- 

1764 American colony came from Roanoke, in the province of 

to 1768 North Carolina, and established themselves between 

Manchac and Baton Rouge. They were followed by 
others, from North and South Carolina, who crossed the moun- 
tains to the Tennessee, there constructing flat-boats, descended 
that river into the Ohio, and thence passed down the Mississippi. 
Others from Georgia even cut through the wilderness to find the 
Natchez country, which had become so favorably known. Emi- 
grants from Virginia came down the Ohio. They all received 



* French and Spanish MS., Martin's History of Louisiana. Gayarre's Histoire de la 
Louisiane, Memoire Historique et Politique sur la Louisiane, par .u.de Vergennes, .Min- 
ister de Louis XVI. 



ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 323 

upon their arrival liberal and extensive grants. After a while 
emigrants came from Great Britain, Ireland and the British West 
Indies. During the three succeeding years many nocked from 
Georgia, the Carolinas and New Jersey, and established them- 
selves upon the soil drained by the Bayou Sara, the Homochitto 
and Bayou Pierre. All these settlements extended from the 
Mississippi back for fifteen or twenty miles. A few years after- 
wards the Scotch Highlanders from North Carolina arrived, and 
formed a colony upon the upper branches of the Homochitto, 
thirty miles eastward of Natchez, and their numbers were at a 
late period increased by others from Scotland. This region 
afterwards assumed the name of New Scotland. They still retain 
much of their national character, and not a few of the old 
ones speak the Gaelic. In 1770 emigrants came from 1768 
New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia, by the way of the to 1773 
Ohio, and three years afterward a much greater number 
advanced by that route. 

West Florida continued to be governed by the general 
commandant at Pensacola. With the exception of some futile 
attempts to form a colonial legislature, like those of the At- 
lantic provinces, it remained the whole time a mere mili- 
tary government. It was strengthened by garrisons at the 
places mentioned, and also at Manchac, where Fort Bute was 
erected, in 1 765, for the purpose of monopolizing the trade of the 
Lower Mississippi. England constantly introduced, through the 
lakes and by this fortified outlet, Africans obtained from their 
native country. These were purchased by the French, Spanish 
and British settlers, in defiance of the laws of Spain. Through/ 
Manchac, the English also supplied the Spanish subjects with 1 
all kinds of merchandise. To arrest this illicit trade, Don Ulloa, 
the governor of Louisiana, constructed a fort on the south side of 
the Iberville, or Manchac, four hundred yards from Fort Bute ; 
but with little effect. Negroes continued to be imported, and 
sugar, indigo, cotton and tobacco were extensively cultivated.* 

* Monette, vol. 1., pp. 405-7. 



324 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Discord made her appearance in the councils of the province 
of West Florida soon after its organization. The colonists be- 
came very much dissatisfied with Governor Johnstone. He was 
succeeded by the Honorable Montforte Brown, in the capacity of 
lieutenant-governor. Governor Elliot came in the place of Brown ; 
but, when the latter died, Brown again came into power. He 
w^as, however, a second time replaced, when the Honor- 
1772 able Peter Chester assumed the government of the 
province, and under whose auspices it flourished for a 
long time. Governor Chester was universally esteemed.* 

The year 1765 was fatal to the inhabitants of Mobile. The 
ravages of death gave it a reputation for unheal thin ess, which, 
for years, kept it from increasing in population. In that year, 
the 21st British regiment brought from Jamaica a contagious dis- 
ease. Upon their arrival in Mobile, the officers and sol- 
1765 diers rioted in intemperance, and drank the water of 
stagnant pools. Death hovered over these imprudent 
people, until none remained. Indeed, the English population, 
generally, lived too fast, converting day into night, and sporting 
their lives away in dissipation. 

Far otherwise was it with the French inhabitants. Among 

them were exhibited instances of greater longevity than could 

be found in any other part of North America. In the family of 

the Chevalier de Lucere this was particularly the case. 

1771 Its members were all extremely aged, and the mother 

of all died a few years previous to that period, from the 

snapping of her legs — the effect of the last stages of the gout. M. 

Francois, who then lived five miles above Fowl river, stated his 

age to be above eighty-three, and that the old woman, who was 

in the kitchen, cooking, and walking with activity and cheerfulness 

from one house to another, was his mother. She was one of the 

first females that came to Mobile from France. At the age of 

sixty-five, Francois fell from a pine tree, which he was climbing, 

* Roman's Florida, p. 4. 



ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 325 



to disengage some game, which had lodged in the branches. If this 
accident had not occurred, he would not have felt the hand of 
time. Although now over eighty-three years of age, he was ac- 
customed, almost daily, to walk five miles to the bay, angle there 
for hours, and at night, walk home with a mule's load of fish 
upon his back, some of which his affectionate mother would in- 
stantly prepare for the supper of herself and her dutiful child! 

They lived comfortably, on a small farm, subsisting upon its 
products, and those of a large herd of cattle. Many other cases 
of protracted life were witnessed by travellers to this country- 
The French assimilated their constitutions to the climate 
by a regular, abstemious life, refraining from spirituous 1771 
liquors in the summer, and obtaining pure drinking 
water from a rivulet, three miles back of the town. It was also 
the custom of many to spend the fatal months upon their planta- 
tions, up the Tensaw and Mobile rivers, where the air appears, 
at that day, to have been far more salubrious than in Mobile.* 
The plantation of the Chevalier de Lucere was on the first 
island, below the confluence of the Tombigby and Alabama. 
Many of the islands on the Tensaw and Mobile rivers 
were well cultivated, by the French, and also by the 1772 
English, who worked them in summer, and withdrew 
their laborers, in winter, to their settlements, hard by among the 
hills, where they engaged extensively in making tar and pitch 
for exportation. 

The first plantation, after that of the Chevalier de Lucere, 
passed in descending the Mobile river, was that of Campbell. 
Then followed those of Stewart, Andrey, McGillivray, Favre, 
Chastang, Strother and Narbone. Five miles below the latter 
was the site of an old French fort, which was once occupied a 
short time. Six miles further down, was, at one time, a splendid 
plantation, the property of the French Intendant of Mobile, but 
which now belonged to M. Lizars.t 

* Barnard Roman's Florida, pp. 4-13. t Ibid. 



326 HISTORY OP ALABAMA. 



The articles exported from Mobile and Pensacola, in 1772, 

were — indigo, raw hides, corn, fine cattle, tallow, rice, 

1772 pitch, bear's oil, tobacco, tar, squared timber, indigo 

seed, myrtle wax, cedar posts and planks, salted wild 

beef, pecan nuts, cypress and pine boards, plank of various woods, 

shingles, dried salt fish, scantling, sassafras, canes, staves and 

heading, hoops, oranges, and peltry. 

Cotton was not enumerated among the articles of export, but 
it is mentioned as having been, at that time, cultivated to some 
extent, and machines, for separating the lint from the seed, were 
in use. One of these is thus described by Captain Roman : 

" It is a strong frame, of four studs, each about four feet 
high, and joined, above and below, by strong transverse pieces. 
Across this are placed two round well-polished iron spindles, 
having a small groove through their whole length, and, by means 
of treadles, are put in opposite motions. The workman sits be- 
hind the frame, with a thin board before him, upon which is 
placed the cotton, thinly spread, which the rollers receive. The 
lint goes through the rollers, and the seed falls down in a sepa- 
rate pile. The French population have much improved upon 
this plan, by a large wheel, which turns two of these mills, with 
so much velocity, that seventy pounds of clean cotton can be 
made every day." 

Mr. Crebs, upon the Pascagoula river, owned one of these im- 
proved machines, and claimed the invention of it. He suspended 
canvass bags between pine trees, and packed in his cotton by 
treading, making them almost three hundred weight.* 

Mobile, in common with the whole of West Florida, 

1772 was visited with the most awful storms. Vessels, boats 

Aug. 30 and logs were driven up into the heart of the town. 

to The violence of the winds forced the salt water over the 

Sept. 3 gardens, which destroyed the vegetables. The spray 

rose in the air, and fell again, at the distance of a half 

* Barnard Etonian's Florida, pp. lmi-12. 



ENGLISH occupation OF ALABAMA and MISSISSIPPI. 827 

mile, like rain. All the houses were filled with water, several 
feet deep, and the one inhabited by a joiner was run entirely 
through by a schooner, which had broken from her moorings. 
rpon the Pascagoula, the storm was equally furious. The 

plantation of Mr. Crebs was almost entirely destroyed. A large 
crop of rice and corn was completely swept off. His dwellings 
were unroofed, his outhouses blown down, and his smith's shop 
washed away. For thirty miles, up that river, the cypress trees 
were prostrated and the pines twisted into ropes. At Katereaux's 
cow-pen, the herdsmen were six weeks collecting and bringing 
home their cattle. A colony of Germans up tin; Pascagoula, 
fearing that another Noah's flood was at hand, were about to set 
out for the Choctaw nation; but the abatement of the waters 
preceded their usually slow movements. The whole west coast 
was ravaged. A schooner, with a detachment of the 16th British 
regiment on board, was driven to Cat Island, and, when under 
the west point, parted her cables, and was carried entirely over 
the island, and stranded upon another, which bore the name of 
Freemason. There the crew remained six weeks, and would have 
perished, but for their discovery by a hunting smack. The 
different directions of the currents of wind were passing strange. 
That from the south-east drove the water, in immense 
volumes, up all the bays, rivers and bayous to the west, 1772 
being here counteracted by the winds from the north- 
east. A body of water was violently forced into the Bay of 
spirito Santo, behind the Chandelier, Grand Gazier and Breton 
Isles, and, not finding sufficient vents up the rivulets, nor down 
the outlets of the bay, forced a number of deep channels through 
these islands, thus forming many new islands. The Chandelier, 
being higher than the others, had all its surface washed off, and, 
but for the roots of the black mangrove and myrtle, which held 
much of the earth together, not a vestige of it would have been 
left. All the shipping at the Balize was blown into the marshes. 
A Spanish vessel there parted, and the whole crew were drowned. 



328 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

The most extraordinary effect of this hurricane was the produc- 
tion of a second crop of leaves upon all the mulberry trees, 
which had never happened before. This tree budded, foliated, 
blossomed, and bore ripe fruit, within the brief space of four 
weeks after the terrible gusts had passed away. Other trees 
remained naked, until the following spring.* 

At this time, Governor Chester was at the head of the 
government of West Florida. He was universally esteemed, 
and, under his auspices, the people prospered, and their valuable 
products continued to increase. Slavery was in exist- 
1772 ence, and the government of the mother country was 
Mar. active in transporting Africans into this country. The 
freeholders assembled in Mobile, Pensacola, and other 
parts of the province, to elect representatives to a colonial legis- 
lature; but, finding that the writs required the continuance of 
members for three years in office, they added the condition to 
their votes, that the elected members were to serve but one year. 
The governor, disliking this arrangement, declined to accept it. 
The freeholders remained inflexible, and, rather than be deprived 
of annual elections, chose to remain without representatives.! 
In 1771, Pensacola contained about one hundred and eighty 
houses, built of timber, in good taste, and arranged with 
1771 much convenience. The town formed an oblong square, 
near the foot of an eminence, called Gage Hill, named in 
honor of the great British officer, well remembered by the whigs 
of America. t 

Turning our eyes towards the British province of Georgia, 

we find that the Cherokees and Creeks had assembled 

1773 at Augusta, at the instance of Sir James Wright, the 

June 1 governor, and John Stuart, superintendent of Indian 

affairs. These Indians there ceded to Great Britain a 

large area of territory, upon the head waters of the Ogechee, and 



* Roman's Florida, pp. 4-13. Ibid. $ Ibid, p. 303. 



ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 329 

northwest of Little river. The object was to compensate the 
Honorable George Galphin, and some other traders, for large 
debts due them by these nations. The governor, having no 
power to accept this cession, but seeing the influence it would 
enable him to wield, in behalf of the tottering power of his King, 
to whom he was devotedly attached, he had already obtained the 
consent of the ministry to make the treaty. But Galphin never 
obtained any ot these lands, or the proceeds of the sales thereof, 
on account of his boldly expressed patriotic opinions ; and Gov- 
ernor Wright, with a vindictive partiality, paid the loyal traders, 
in preference, keeping the larger portion of the proceeds, to 
strengthen his government, and perhaps to add to his own cof- 
fers. Galphin was wealthy ; he sacrificed thousands in defence 
of American liberty, and, to this day, his descendants remain 
without remuneration.* It is said that Governor Wright received 
the order of knighthood, for the unjust direction which he gave 
these funds. In the meantime, land offices had been established 
at Augusta, and at the confluence of the Broad and Sa- 
vannah rivers, where a town was laid out, called Dart- 1773 
mouth, but which was subsequently changed to the 
name of Petersburg. 

This newly ceded territory began to be rapidly settled, when 
a party of Creeks attacked Sherrill's Fort, killed seven persons, 
and forced the others to barricade an outhouse, where they would 
have been butchered, but for the timely arrival of Captain Bar- 
nard, with forty men, who dispersed the enemy. Other 
attacks by the Indians succeeded, and the settlers aban- 1774 
doned their new homes, and retired into the old British 
settlements, lower down upon the Savannah. The noble Gal- 
phin, who had great influence with the Indians, despatched run- 
ners to the nation, who induced the Chiefs to put a stop to the 

* Since I have written this paragraph, some of the heirs of Galphin have received a 
large amount of money, from the United States government, on account of this claim. 
They had previously applied to Georgia, Great Britain, and the United States, without 



330 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



effusion of blood, which afforded the settlers the opportunity of 
coming back, and of renewing their abandoned improvements. * 

success. The claim of the heirs of Galphin was just upon one of these powers ; but 
many have contended that it was not a just claim upon the federal government, but one 
upon Georgia, while others have contended that it was a just claim upon Great Britain. 
* McCall's History of Georgia, vol.2, pp. 11-12. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Hardships of the Early Emigrants. 

Taking the reader with us, to the settlements of the distant 
Natchez region, he will find that emigrants continued to pour in, 
upon those fertile hills and alluvial bottoms, from all parts of 
u his majesty's Atlantic plantations." Many were the hardships 
and perils they encountered, in reaching this remote and com- 
paratively uninhabited region. It is believed that the history of 
one party of these emigrants will enable the reader to under- 
stand what kind of hardships and deprivations all the others were 
forced to undergo. 

Major General Phineas Lyman, a native of Durham, a 
graduate of Yale, a distinguished lawyer, and a member of 
the legislature of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, became 
commander of the Connecticut forces, in 1755. He served 
with so much distinction, during the Canadian war, that he 
was invited, by persons high in office, to visit England. He 
had formed an association composed of his brothers in arms, 
called the " Military Adventurers," whose design was, the col- 
onization of a tract of country upon the Mississippi. He sailed 
to England, as agent for this company, with the sanguine, 
yet reasonable hope, that the King would make the grant. 
Arriving there he found, to his astonishment, that land in a 
wilderness was refused to those who had fought so valiantly 
for it, and whose contemplated establishment would have formed 
a barrier against enemies, who might seek to acquire it. In his 
own country Lyman had never solicited favor, otherwise than by 
faithful public services. The coolness which he now experienced 

331 



332 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



deeply mortified him — his spirits sank, and he lost all his former 
energy. Shocked at the degradation which he imagined he should 
sustain by returning home unsuccessful, he made up his mind to 
bury his bones upon an ungrateful soil. There he remained for 
eleven years, a neglected man. His wife, a lady of superior en- 
dowments, distressed at his long absence, sent her son to solicit 
his return. The sight of his boy called up the remains of his 
resolution, and he resolved to go back to America, as the grant 
upon the Mississippi had at last been made.* He reached home 
in 1773. But the grave had closed over most of his original asso- 
ciates, while others had arrived at an age unsuitable to bold 
enterprises. In company with his eldest son, a man of rare at- 
tainments, but who had become subdued and listless, in conse- 
quence of the deep distress and mortification of his 
1773 father while so long absent, General Lyman sailed from 
Dec. New England with a number of emigrants, in two ves- 
sels, bound for New Orleans. 
It is deemed proper that an enumeration of these emigrants 
be here made, as the eyes of some of their descendants, still liv- 
ing in Mississippi, may perhaps rest on these pages. On board 
of these vessels were : 

General Lyman, of Suffield. 
Captain Ladley, of Hartford. 
Thomas and James Lyman, Durham. 
Hugh White, Middletown. 

Captain Elsworth, Ira Whitmore and Sage, Middleton. 

Major Easley, Weatherford. 

Thaddeus and Phineas Lyman, with eight slaves, Suffield. 

Moses and Isaac Sheldon, Roger Harmon and Hanks, 

Shuftield. 
1773 Seth Miller, Elisha and Joseph Flowers, Springfield. 

Moses Drake, Ruggles Winchel and Benjamin Bar- 
ber, Westfield. 



* "Travels in New York and New England," by Theodore Dwight. S.T.D., LL.D., late 
President of Yale College, vol. 1, pp. 306-16. 



HARDSHIPS OF THE EARLY EMIGRANTS. 333 

Alcott, Windsor. 

Daniel and Rosswell Magguet, Hartford. 

Thomas Comstock, Weed, New Hartford. 

Captain Silas Crane, Robert Patrick, Ashbell Bowen, John 
Newcomb and James Dean, of Lebanon. 

Abram Knapp and Matthew Phelps, of Norfolk. 

Giles and Nathaniel Hull, James Stoddart and Thaddeus 
Bradley, Salisbury. 

Ephraim Case and Hezekiah Rew, Sheffield. 

John Fisk and Elisha Hale, Wallingford. 

Timothy and David Hotchkiss, Waterberry. 

John Hyde, William and Jonathan Lyon, and William Davis, 
Stratford or Derby. 

James Harman and family, and Elnathan Smith, Suffield. 

William Hurlbut and Elisha Leonard, with a number of 
slaves, Springfield. 

General Lyman and these emigrants at length saw the mouth 
of the Mississippi, passed up to New Orleans, there obtained 
boats, and, after a laborious ascent of that powerful stream, 1774 
arrived upon the Big Black river. He settled his grant, but 
was too old to cultivate it. In a short time his son died, and, before 
he could arrange his own affairs, to return home, for the purpose 
of bringing out his family, the grave also closed over him, termi- 
inating a life, first, of honor and military glory, and 
then of sadness and misfortune. But the half has Summer 
not yet been told of the troubles of his family, the of 1781 
last of whom were miserable sufferers in the Creek 
nation, as will hereafter be narrated. 

Captain Matthew Phelps, one of the companions of General 
Lyman, returned to Connecticut, and his representations of the 
fertility of the new country excited many of the citi- 
zens, who resolved to return with him to occupy it. 1776 
But various causes prevented their departure. At May 1 
length, however, they sailed from Middletown. Among 



!34 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



these emigrants were Madame Lyman, the wife of the late Gen- 
eral, with three sons and two daughters ; Major Timothy Dwight, 
his wife and one child ; Sereno and Jonathan Dwight, of North 
Hampton ; Benjamin Day and his family ; Harry Dwight and 
three slaves ; Joseph Leonard and Joshua Flowers, with their 

families, from Springfield; the Rev. Smith and his family, 

from Granville ; Mrs. Elnathan Smith and children ; and John 
Felt and his family, from Suffield ; together with Captain Phelps, 
wife and children, with many others.* 

After a voyage of three months, attended with many dan- 
gers, the party reached New Orleans, on the 1st August. 
1776 Here, obtaining boats, they began to stem the muddy cur- 
Aug. rent of the Mississippi. Mrs. Flowers, an estimable 
1 to 18 lady, who was too sick to continue the voyage, was left 
at Point Coupee, where she soon died. The eldest 
daughter of Captain Phelps was seized with a violent fever, and, 
in a few days after, the enterprising father became sick 
Aug 27 with the same disease. Many of the emigrants suffered 
with fever, and the boats were moved slowly up the 
river, by the feeble efforts of those Avho were less debilitated. 
Captain Phelps and all his children becoming prostrated with 
disease, his boat was tied to the willows, while the others con- 
tinued the voyage. His intimate friend, Leonard, who had 
messed with him at sea, arrived at Natchez, where he buried his 

wife. The boat containing the Lymans and the Rev. Smith 

reached Natchez about the same time, a few days after which the 
worthy minister closed his earthly career, and was soon followed 
to his long home by the refined and estimable Major Dwight. ' At 
length, those of this party who were left, reached the Big Black, 
and the improvements made by General Lyman. Here Madame 
Lyman soon died, and was buried by the side of her husband and 
son. 



* Memoirs and adventures of Captain Matthew Phelps, pp. 18-72; also his Appendix, 

pp. 60-63. 



HARDSHIPS OF THE EARLY EMIGRANTS. 335 

The unfortunate Phelps remained in his boat, which was 
anchored fifteen miles above Point Coupee, when his 
daughter, Abigail, died. He was compelled to bury her 1776 
with his own hands. All this time, it was only at in- Sept. 7 
tervals that his family were able to assist each other in to 
the severe fits of the ague which afflicted them. Sept. 16 

The Disposer of Events removed from this dis- 
tressed man an infant, born on the ocean, whom the sail- 
ors had named " Atlantic." Phelps again had to perform Sept. 16 
the melancholy task of digging a grave, and burying the 
boy by the side of his lovely sister. Mr. Flowers, the other mem- 
bers of whose family had died below, came, with his child, in a 
small boat, to the gloomy habitation of Phelps. They now both 
obtained a larger boat, and, placing in it their joint effects, began 
again to ascend the river. The Phelpses were worn to skeletons, 
but, struggling forward, against singular adversity, and buoyed 
up with the hope of brighter scenes, they finally arrived 
at the landing of Natchez. Advancing, after a few days, Oct. 12 
they reached the Petit Gulf, where lived Philip Alston, 
a gentleman of wealth and humanity. Mrs. Phelps, worn down 
with trouble and disease, was rapidly approaching dissolution. 
In a few days she died, and Alston had her remains decently 
interred. He did all in his power to alleviate the sorrows of the 
unhappy husband, and sheltered him and his two remaining 
children under his hospitable roof. A few days afterwards, the 
fated Phelps began again to move up the river, and, upon gaining 
Grand Gulf, entered the hospitable abode of an old acquaintance. 
Leaving this place, he came in sight of the mouth of the Big 
Black river, having consumed nearly one hundred days 
in performing a voyage from New Orleans, which can 1776 
now be accomplished in a few hours. Near this place, Nov. 24 
three years before, he had purchased some improve- 
ments. Captain Phelps was so debilitated, that he had hired a 
lad, of fourteen years of age, and a man, by the name of 



336 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Nov. Knapp, to propel his boat. Upon entering the Big 
Black, the captain and the boy, disembarking, walked 
along the bank, dragging the boat after them with a long line, 
while Knapp remained on board, to steer, m company with the 
children, a boy of five and a girl of ten years of age. The chil- 
dren were quietly sitting upon the bed on which they had suffered 
so much. Presently the boat entered a whirlpool, which forced 
the stern under a willow. Knapp jumped out and swam ashore. 
The terrified Phelps secured the end of the rope around a tree, 
and rushed to the spot where his all remained in such imminent 
peril. Unable to swim, he crawled into the river upon the willow, 
imploring his daughter to remain quiet, until he could get out 
her little brother. While the little fellow was wading the water 
in the bottom of the boat, endeavoring to reach his unhappy 
father, the willow began to sink, with the additional weight 
upon it, and, at that moment, an angry billow came rushing 
down, the boat suddenly went under, and the poor children 
were swept rapidly off. " Oh, God, save them ! " was all that 
the miserable Phelps could utter. Standing upon the unsteady 
willow, he saw them rise again to the surface, locked in each 
other's arms, and then sink forever. The bereaved man stood 
upon the tree in mournful silence — wet, cold, emaciated — with- 
out property, without friends, and without children, and with no 
wife to encourage him and sympathize with him in his misfor- 
tunes. But Phelps was a Christian, and he bore up with aston- 
ishing fortitude. The calamities which had befallen him had 
been unavoidable, and yet he tortured his imagination, for some 
time, with reproaches upon himself. In addition to his 
1776 weighty troubles, he found that, during his absence, his 
Dec. improvements had been taken from him, by a wretch 
who availed himself of the customs of the country. 
Phelps, however, survived all this, and lived to be an old man, 
surrounded, in New England, with a wile, children and plenty. 
He was long accustomed to relate to the sober Yankees the hor- 



HARDSHIPS OF THE EARLY EMIGRANTS. 337 

rors which he experienced in the "Natchez country," with per- 
fect composure ; always, however, avoiding the last terrible af- 
fair, when his two children, whom God had spared him, and with 
whom he had expected yet to see much happiness in the wilder- 
ness, rose up to his view, from their watery bed, for one short 
moment, locked in each other's arms, and then went down for- 
ever.* 

* Memoirs and Adventures of Phelps, pp. 56-100. 



22 



CHAPTER XX. 

JoiJKNKV OK BaBTIIAM TllKOIIOII Al.AllAMA. 

William Babtbam, the botanist, who baa been mentioned Ln 
<Mir remarks upon the aborigines of theoountry, pass- 
1777 ed through the Creek nation, and went from then oe to 
Summer Mobile. He found that that town extended back from 
the river nearly half a mile. Someofthe houses were 
vacant, and others were Ln ruins. Yet a few good buildings were 
Inhabited i>y the French gentlemen, and others i>v refined emi- 
grants from Ireland, Scotland, England, and the Northern Brit- 

ish Colonies. The Indian trade was under the management of 
Messrs. Swanson and MoGillivray. They oon ducted an exten- 
sive commerce with the ( Shickasaws, ( Ihoctaws and ( 'reeks. Their 
buildings were oommodious, and well arranged for that purpose* 
The principal houses of the French were of brick, <>f one story, 
ol a square form, and on a Large scale, embraoing courts in their 

rears. Those ol the lower classes were made of strong cypress 

frames, filled Ln with plaster. 

Major Farmar, one of the most respeotable inhabitants of 
West Florida, who formerly had much to do with the colon- 
ial government, resided at Tensaw, in sight of the present 

Stockton, where once lived the tribe of Tensaw Indians. The 

bluff sustained not only his extensive Improvements, 

1777 but the dwellings of many Frenob families, chiefly his 

Bummer tenants, while his extensive plantations Lay up and 

down the Tensaw, on the western side. Indeed, all 

up that river, and particularly on tin; eastern branch, were many 
well cultivated plantations, belonging to various settlers, while 
others were iu ruins, having been abandoned by the French when 

the English took possession of the country. The plantations on 

the Mobile river, as seen live years before, have already been men- 

888 



JOURNEY OF BARTRAM THROUGH ALABAMA. 339 



tinned. At one of these Bartram stayed all night, in company 
with Dr. Grant, a physician of the garrison of Fort Charlotte. 
The occupant, who was an old gentleman and a famous hunter, 
annually killed three hundred deer, besides bears, panthers and 
wolves. 

Arriving at Pensacola, Bartram received from Dr. Lorimer, 
one of the honorable council, much politeness and attention. 
Mr. Livingston, the government secretary, took him to the de- 
partment in which he did business. Shortly afterwards, Gov- 
ernor Chester rode by in his chariot, having been upon a morning 
ride to his farm. He received the learned botanist with cor- 
diality, invited him to remain some time in the country, to make 
his house his headquarters, commended his laudable pursuits, 
and offered to defray his expenses in traveling over the country 
under his jurisdiction. 

Pensacola, at this period, contained several hundred habita- 
tions. The governor's place was a large stone building, 
erected by the Spaniards, and ornamented with a tower. 1777 
The town was defended by a large stocKade fortress, Oct. 
of wood, on the plan of a tetragon, with a salient angle 
at each corner, where stood blockhouses a story higher than the 
curtains. Upon these, light cannon were mounted. Within this 
fortress was a council chamber, where the records were kept, 
also houses for the officers and barracks for the garrison, together 
with arsenals and magazines. The secretary resided in a hand- 
some and spacious house, as did some eminent merchants and 
professional gentlemen.* 

Returning to Mobile, the botanist presently embarked in a 
trading vessel, manned by three negroes, and set sail for 
Pearl river. Passing along the western coast, and 1777 
reaching the mouth of Dog river, he there landed, and Autumn 
•entered the woods for recreation. Here he saw the 
remains of the old Fort St. Louis de la Mobile, with a few pieces 
of iron cannon, and also vast iron kettles, for boiling tar into 

* Bar tram's Travels, pp. 402-407-412-414 



340 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

pitch. Pursuing his voyage, he again came to the shore, a few 
miles beyond, where resided a Frenchman, eighty years of age, 
who was active, strong and muscular; his mother, who was 
present, and who appeared to be brisk and cheerful, was one 
hundred and five years of age. Fifty years previous to this 
period, she had landed in Mobile, from la belle France. Arriv- 
ing at Pearl Island, Bartram took up his quarters at the house 
of a generous Englishman, named Rumsey, with whom he 
passed a month. Leaving this place in a handsome boat, 
navigated by three negroes, he coasted along the northern 
shore of Lake Pontchartrain, entered Lake Maurepas, and pro- 
ceeded up the Amite river for thirty miles to the large plantation 
of a Scotch gentleman, who gave him a hospitable reception. 
Bartram, still ascending the Amite, next entered the Iberville on 
the left, and it was not long before he reached a landing, at which 
were situated warehouses for depositing English merchandise. A 
beautiful road overhung with evergreens led from this place to 

Manchac, upon the Mississippi. Here, also, the English 

1777 had mercantile depots, the chief establishment of which 

Autumn was that of Swanson and McGillivray, who were Indian 

traders. The Iberville was now dry, its channel being 
higher than the Mississippi, which had receded from it. It was, 
however, navigable in winter and spring, for the " Father of Wa- 
ters " then disgorged some portion of his tide through this chan- 
nel into the lakes. It also separated, as before observed, the 
English colony of West Florida and the Spanish province of 
Louisiana. On one side of this bayou was an English fort, at 
Manchac, and just across, at the south point, was a Spanish fort. 
A slender wooden bridge connected the two establishments, and, 
strange to say, they were at this time peaceable, although such 
near neighbors. The next day Bartram began the ascent of the 
Mississippi, and two miles above Manchac stopped at an Indian 
town. The inhabitants were a portion of the Alabamas, who had 
once lived upon the river of that name, but who, when the French 



JOURNEY OF BARTRAM THROUGH ALABAMA. 341 

evacuated Fort Toulouse, followed them to Louisiana, and here 
had formed an establishment. The botanist visited Baton Rouge, 
now called by the English New Richmond, and various planta- 
tions on both sides of the great river. He was particularly pleased 
with the French planters, who had long tilled these superior 
lands. They were ingenious, industrious, and lived in ease and 
great abundance. 

About the middle of November Bartram returned to Mobile 
by the same route, arranged his specimen plants and flowers, and 
left them in the hands of Swanson and McGillivray, to 
be shipped to Dr. Fothergill, at London. He then 1777 
entered a boat and went to the mansion of Major Far- Nov. 27 
mar, at Tensaw. The next morning he set out for the 
Creek nation with a caravan of traders, who transported their mer- 
chandise upon pack-horses. The road, like all others in an Indian 
country, was narrow and well beaten. The pack-horses were 
arranged one after the other, the oldest and best trained in the 
lead. At night they were belled and turned out to graze in the 
woods. In the morning so much time was occupied in collecting 
them, arranging their packs and preparing breakfast that the sun 
was high when a start was made. Then these faithful animals 
fell into line on the trail, like regular soldiers, and began a brisk 
trot, which was continued all day, amid the ringing of their bells 
and the whooping and cursing of the drivers. 

When near the site of the present city of Montgomery the 
caravan met a party of Georgians, consisting of a man, his wife, 
a young woman, several young children, and three stout 
young men, with a dozen horses laden with their effects. 1777 
These fearless people had passed through the Creek na- Dec. 
tion, then very extensive, and were on their way to settle 
upon the Alabama, a few miles above the confluence of that river 
and the Tombigby. They are believed to have been among the 
first Anglo-Americans who settled in the present Baldwin 
county* 

* Bartram, pp. 416-441. 



CHAPTER xxi. 
An Account os the MoGillivbay Family The Revolu 

TXONARY VV a it. 

\v a i; had now ru^wi hotwuun tb6 mother oountry and her 
oolonles oi North America foi more than three yean. It had be- 
come fierce and sanguinary along the Atlantic. But the people 
oi We;, i, Florida, whose government was oomposed obietiy of mil 
ii.uy dependencies, had hitherto enjoyed peace, They were 
in-. i,iy loyal lubjeoti of the King, But now, even In this remote 
region, the oontest began to be felti The Creek [ndiani were re 
lied upon, mainly, by the British authorities, to harass the whi^ 
Inhabitants of Georgia and Carolina, They had stationed at 
Hickory Ground, the site of the lower suburbs <>i the modern 
YVHnni pka, Colonel Tait, an English offloer, of captivating ad 
dress, (or the purpose of influencing the Creeks in behalf 
I77H of the King, There, be soon became acquainted with 
the most gifted and remarkable man that ever was born 
upon the soil oi Alabama, the history of whose Family will now 
be given, 

a Sootob boy, of sixteen years of age, who bad read of 
the wonders to be seen In Amerioa, ran away from his wealthy 
and respeotable parents, living lu Dunmaglass, and entered a 
ship winch was bound for South Carolina! Efe arrived, without 
accident, at the port oi Charleston, Young Laohlan MoGillivray 
ii H- nr rn,.i. Hot 1 1 im looi, upon Amerioan soil. 1 1 « * then had no prop 
erty, exoept a shilling in his pooket, :< suit oi olothes upon his 
back, a red bead y a stout frame, an honest heart, ;< fearless dis 
position, and oheerful spirits^ wbioh seldom beoame depressed. 



I 111. i:i. VOL I TIONAKV W A It. '■'. 18 



About this period, the English were conducting nn ei 
tensive commerce vritfa the Cherokee*, Cblckasaws and 178 
those of the Creeki who weve not In the Interest of the 
French. SToung McGillivray repaired to the extensive quarters 
of the traders, In the suburbs of Charleston. There be saw bun 
dreds of pack horses, pack saddles, and curious looking pack 
horsemen, in demi-civilized garbs, together with packs of m* r 
cbandise, ready to be carried to the wilderness. The keen e 
of one of these traders soon fell upon the smart Scotch boy, who, 
be saw at a glance, would be useful to bim, The next day, 
Lacblan might have been seen, In the pine woods, several miles 
distant from Charleston, mounted upon ;• boi e and driving 
others before bim, in company with a whole caravan A tradei 
Arriving upon the Cbattahoochie, bis master, as >*■ reward tor bis 
activity and accommodating spirit, gave bim a jack knife, which 
be sold to an Indian receiving In exchange a few deer skin 
These be sold in Charleston, upon his return, and the proceed 
of this adventure laid 1 1 1 « - foundations ol large fortune, i" the 
course of a few years, be became one of the boldest and most en 
terprising traders In the whole country. Whether It was owing 
to a superior addre , ; < fearless disposition, or, which is more 
probable, a leaning towards the French, for pei »onal Interests, be 
even extended ins commerce, without Interruption, to the rery 
neighborhood of Port Toulon « 

At. the Hickory Ground, a few miles above that fort, be found 
a beautiful girl, by u j<> name of Beboy Harcband, whose father 
once commanded at Fort Toulouse, and was there killed, In 17^2, 
by bis own soldiers, as we have already seen. Her mother was 
a lull blooded Creek woman, of the tribe of the wind, the mo I 
aristocratic and powerful family In the Creek nation. Sehoywas 

SI) Indian name, which had attached to many person , ol the 

family, time out of mind. 

Schoy Harcband, when first seen by young Lacblan IfcOil 

Jivray, was a maiden Of sixteen, cheerful in countenance, he- 



344 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

witching in looks, and graceful in form. Her unfortunate father, 
Captain Marchand, was a Frenchman, of dark complexion, and, 
consequently, this beautiful girl scarcely looked light enough for 
a half blood ; but then, her slightly curled hair, her vivacity and 
peculiar gesticulation, unmistakably exposed her origin. It was 

not long before Lachlan and Sehoy joined their des- 

About tinies in marriage, according to the ceremony of the 

1745 country. The husband established a trading house at 

Little Tallase, four miles above Wetumpka, on the east 
bank of the Coosa, and there took home his beautiful wife. The 
Indian tradition ran, that, while pregnant with her first child, 
she repeatedly dreamed of piles of manuscripts, of ink and paper, 
and heaps of books, more than her eyes had ever beheld in the 
fort, when, a child, she used to visit her father. She was deliv- 
ered of a boy, who received the name of Alexander, and who, 
when grown to manhood, wielded a pen which commanded the 
admiration and respect of Washington and his cabinet, and 
which influenced the policy of all Spanish Florida. 

Lachlan McGillivray, assisted by his alliance with the most 
influential family in the Creek nation, continued to extend his 
commerce. He became wealthy, and owned two plantations, well 
stocked with negroes, upon the Savannah, besides stores filled 
with Indian merchandise, in the towns of Savannah and Augusta. 
When his son, Alexander, was fourteen years of age, he carried 
him to Charleston, by the consent of his wife, for we have seen 
that, among the Creeks particularly, the children always belonged 
to the mother. He was placed at school in that town, and, after 
a few years, was transferred to a counting house at Savannah. 
But Alexander had a distaste for business, and, while the other 
clerks were delving among the goods, and squabbling with the 
pack-horse traders, he was accustomed to steal to some corner, 
and there pore over the histories of European nations. Having 
an inordinate thirst after knowledge, his father, through the ad- 
vice of his friends, again carried him to Charleston, and placed 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 345 

him with a clergyman of his name, with whom, in a short time, 
he mastered the Greek and. Latin tongues, and became a good 
belles lettres scholar. But Alexander was now a man. He had 
a thousand times thought, and dreamed, of his bow and arrows, 
his blow-gun, his mother's house by the side of the clear and 
beautiful Coosa, in which he used to fish and bathe with the In- 
dian lads of his own age — of the old warriors, who had so often 
recounted to him the deeds of his ancestors — of the bright eyes 
of his two lovely sisters, Sophia and Jeannet — yes, he remem- 
bered all these, and, one day, he turned his back upon civiliza- 
tion, and his horse's head towards his native land. 

About this time, the Chiefs of the Creek nation were getting 
into much trouble with the people of Georgia, and with anxiety 
they had awaited the time when Alexander McGillivray could, 
by his descent from the Wind family, assume the affairs of their 
government. His arrival now was most opportune, and 
the first we hear of him, after he had so suddenly left 1776 
Charleston, he was presiding at a grand national coun- May 
cil, at the town of Coweta, upon the Chattahoochie, 
where the adventurous Leclerc Milfort was introduced to him, as 
we have seen. He was, at this time, about thirty years of age. 
He was then in great power, for he had already become 
the object of attention on the part of the British author- 1778 
ities of the Floridas. When Colonel Tait was stationed 
upon the Coosa, they conferred upon Alexander McGillivray the 
rank and pay of a colonel, and associated him with Tait, for the 
purpose of procuring, through them, the alliance of the Creek 
nation in the war of the revolution. McGillivray, throughout the 
whole war, was devoted to their interests, and it was natural that 
he should have pursued that course towards those who first hon- 
ored him ; besides, his father, a man of great influence, was also 
a royalist. 

Colonel McGillivray was tall, rather slender, and of a consti- 
tution by no means robust. To be a leader in war was not his 



346 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



forte, and was unsuited to his tastes and habits. His great power 
lay in diplomacy, and in the controlling of men, as the reader 

will often see, in perusing this history at a later date. 
1778 In 1778, he carried on an extensive correspondence with 

the British colonial governments of Florida, and also 
with that of the province of Georgia, and was indefatigable in 
co-operating with Tait, in confederating the Indians against the 
whigs. During the war, he led, in person, several expeditions 
with that officer ; but his chief reliance was upon Leclerc Milfort, 
a man at once bold, daring, enthusiastic, possessed of an iron 
constitution, and every way qualified to lead Indians into battle. 
He often did so, while Col. McGillivray remained at home, con- 
trolling the arbitrary Chiefs, and compelling them to raise war- 
riors for his King. All the while, McGillivray was not unmindful 
of the aggrandizement of himself and his nation, for it must be 
borne in mind that the blood which coursed his veins was Scotch, 
French and Indian. During the desperate struggle for human 
liberty, he acted in concert with many royalists, who had fled to 
East Florida, among the most conspicuous of whom were Colonel 
Daniel McGirth, and his brother, Captain James McGirth. They 
were bad men, but were brave and enterprising, and well suited 
to the times. Colonel McGirth commanded the " Florida Rangers," 
whose sudden and sanguinary attacks the whigs of Georgia often 
severely felt. Leaving Colonel McGillivray, with his red army 
and white allies, engaged in expeditions most harassing to the 
Georgians, on their western frontier, we hasten to portray the 
exciting scenes about Natchez* 

Here, also, the revolution began to be felt. James 

1778 Willing, of Philadelphia, with a small body of Ameri- 

Mar. 7 can soldiers, arrived at Natchez, by the way of the Ohio. 

The ports upon that river, and the Upper Mississippi, 

* MS. in my possession. Also information derived from conversations with the intel- 
ligent niece and nephew of Colonel McGillivray, still living ; also with old Indian 
traders, who knew him in those times. See also Milfort's "Sejonr dans la Nation 
Creek," and AlcCall's History of (Jeorgia. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 347 



had fallen into the hands of the Americans, and had been sup- 
plied, for more than a year, by shipments from Mew Orleans, in 
consequence of a private arrangement between Don Galvez and 
Oliver Pollock, the American agent at New Orleans. Willing was 
now sent to further that end, and he was supplied with blank 
commissions, and authorized to recruit for the American service. 
Knowing that the inhabitants of this part of West Florida were 
loyal subjects of Britain, to allay their opposition to his schemes, 
he first sought to place them in a neutral position. A man 
of ingenuity and address, he made speeches, eloquently depict- 
ing the justice of our cause, and the certainty of final success, 
asserted that five thousand troops were then on their way 
to protect these inhabitants from the aggressions of the Brit- 
ish government. He generally prevailed on them to take 
an oath of strict neutrality. Also enlisting a hundred men, 
whose officers he commissioned, he continued his voyage to 
Manchac, and was equally successful there. By stratagem, he 
made himself master of an English armed ship, which he con- 
veyed to New Orleans, sold to the Spaniards, and wasted the 
avails in debauchery. With two subalterns, and forty of his 
original party, he returned to Manchac, plundered the planta- 
tions, without distinction, and rioted upon the booty. In the 
meantime, the Natchez people, hearing of these outrages, formed 
a large armed association, for their protection, and stationed 
themselves about the mouth of St. Catherine, not far below 
Natchez, to prevent the ascent of Captain Willing. He was 
presently seen to approach, but turned his boats to the opposite 
side of the Mississippi. Through the effects of a flag, and upon 
his professions of friendship, and assurances that he intended 
no injury to this section of the country, he received permission 
from the " settlers " to come over to them, across the 
river. After some consultation, he despatched Lieuten- 1778 
ant Harrison, with a command, in a boat. In the mean- 
time, the "associated settlers," reposing confidence in the prom- 



348 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



ises of Willing, had abandoned their defensive positions, and now 
sat and lay upon the banks, at their ease. When the boat ap- 
proached near enough, the gunner, by the orders of Lieutenant 
Harrison, lired a swivel upon the settlers, by which many were 
wounded. The latter instantly rose up, in great confusion, re- 
turned the fire with their guns, riddled the boat, and killed Lieu- 
tenant Harrison and seven of his men. The others came ashore, 
and surrendered. Willing, with his remaining banditti, fled to 
Manchac, sailed over to the Tensaw settlements, above Mobile, 
and endeavored, in vain, to enlist the people in his cause. He 
was eventually made a prisoner of war, and kept in the British 
camp, in chains, and was not released until the close of 1779. 

The inhabitants now considered themselves absolved from 
their oath of neutrality, by the baseness of Captain Willing, and 
they all swore to defend the government of the King. They 
elected officers, repaired old Fort Pan mure, and occupied it with 
a regular garrison. They also marched, in April, to the relief of 
the people in the neighborhood of Manchac, from which place 
Willing had already fled. Thus, by the indiscretions and out- 
rages of the first American command sent here, our glorious 
cause was materially injured.* 

Fort Panmure, at the Natchez, in a short time, received as 
a commander, Michael Jackson, a native of New England, an 
abandoned horse thief, who had been driven from the borders 
of civilization. During the whole of the fall and winter, this 
man, now a captain in the British service, produced great 
dissatisfaction by his oppressions and extortions. Colonel Ilut- 
chens, an influential citizen of Natchez, placed himself at the 

• Memoirs and Adventures of Phelps, pp. 107-120. This author was one of the "asso- 
ciated set i ins," ami appears to have been a conscientious and truthful man. He is sus- 
tained by Judge Martin, in ii is History of Louisiana! vol. 2, pp. 42-3. in regard t<> the 
<»ut rages of willing, it is, however, due to the descendants of that officer, to observe, 
that Honette, in ins History of the Valley of the Mississippi, represents him as a brave 
ami honorable man, ami severely censures the "associated settlers" Cor tin- perfidy 

which they displayed in the fire upon Harrison and his command. [, however, after a 
careful ami dispassionate examination, believe the statement of Phelps. See Monette, 

vol. 1, pp. 191-6. Monette quotes Kllieott's Journal, pp. 131-2. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 349 

bead of the malcontents, arrested and confined .Jackson, 
;md placed Captain Thaddeus Lyman in command. On 1778 
promising to leave the country he was released, but the 
first night after his dismission from the fort lie was joined by 
thirty deserters, who were as abandoned as himself. Jackson 
now stationed himself " under the bill," when; he seized some 
military stores and artillery. Sending runners to the Choctaws, 
they returned with a considerable force of these savages. Jack- 
son now exulting! y fired his artillery upon the fort; but his 
Indian allies, seeing the British flag flying from the ramparts, 
and learning the nature of the dispute, refused to be made the 
instruments of the rascal, and retired peaceably to their homes. 
Seeing himself abandoned, Captain Jackson requested a parley, 
which was agreed to, and lie was suffered, with his men, to enter 
the fort, and there peaceably to remain until the whole affair 
should undergo an investigation. Here he soon raised a mutiny, 
and one night caused the drums suddenly to beat to arms, and 
seizing Captain Lyman placed bim in close confinement. His 
tyranny caused many to desert, who were pursued by a detach- 
ment under Lieutenant Pentacost. An engagement took place, 
when Pentacost was killed, and the deserters made their escape 
to the Spanish garrison at Manchac, across the Iberville. Again 
Jackson was overthrown and forced to retire; but before doing 
so he robbed the fort of all the valuables which he could trans- 
port.* In this manner the royalists were divided, and in the 
midst of their dissensions a large number of whigs were scattered 
about the country, anxiously awaiting the time when they should 
be joined by aid from a distance, under Colonel Clark, of Vir- 
ginia. 

Although Spain had long experienced evasions of her revenue 
laws on the part of the British, and had been compelled to estab- 
lish a fort at Manchac to prevent them, nevertheless she had up 
to this period maintained a neutrality in the war waging between 

* Phelps, pp. 121-197. 



350 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

England and the United American Colonies. But France had 
not been an indifferent spectator, and the leaning of that power 
towards us brought about a collision with arbitrary John Bull. 
Spain interposed her friendly efforts to effect a reconcil- 
1779 iation ; but the canine propensities of England were 
aroused, and that ungenerous government declared war 
against Spain as well as France. His Catholic Majesty, fired at 
the ruthless manner in which he had been treated for a friendly 
act, now resolved to dispossess England of every foot of land in 
the Floridas. According to his directions, Don Galvez, the gov- 
ernor of his province of Louisiana, stood before Fort 
Sept. 1 Bute, at Manchac, with a force of fourteen hundred men. 
After a resistence of five days it was carried by storm 
and utterly demolished. Reinforced by a number of militia, in- 
cluding American patriots, Galvez marched up and invested 
Baton Rouge. After a severe cannonade of two hours and a 
half, Colonel Dickson, the British commander, surrendered the 
fort and a garrison of four hundred regulars and one hundred 
militia. Fort Panmure, at the Natchez, a small fort and garrison 
on the Amite, and another at Thompson's creek, were also sur- 
rendered at the same time. 

Leaving Don Grandpre in command, at Baton Rouge, and 
sending Spanish detachments to the other forts, which had already 
yielded to his arms, Galvez returned to New Orleans, and there 
began extensive preparations for the reduction of Mobile. After 
encountering a terrible storm, which came near destroying his 
transports and stores, he landed his army a little below Mobile, 
early in March, 1780. Fort Charlotte refused to surrender, and 
Galvez planted his six batteries. A severe cannonade 
1780 opened a breach in the fort, when the British officer 
Mar. 14 capitulated, by the surrender of Mobile and all its de- 
pendencies, extending from the Perdido to the Pearl 
river. Thus, the Spaniards were now in possession of all West 
Florida, except Pensacola, and the country as far as the Chatta- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 351 



hoochie. Knowing the great strength of Pensacola, G-alvez de- 
termined to be well prepared for a siege. He put in requisition 
all his disposable regular forces and militia, both of Louisiana 
and of the country which he had conquered, and, in the mean- 
time, sailed to Havana to obtain more troops and heavier artil- 
lery. With a large number of well equipped troops, and an 
abundance of stores and ordnance, he entered the bay of Pensa- 
cola with his fleet, while his Louisiana and Mobile forces marched 
across the country, from the mouth of the Perdido. Being in- 
vested both by sea and by land, General Campbell, after a vigor- 
ous defence, in which he was assisted by the Creek 
Indians, finally surrendered. The Creeks, on this oc- 1781 
casion, were commanded by William Augustus Bowles, May 9 
an interesting person, who will figure in our narrative 
hereafter. 

The town of Pensacola, the fortress and seaport, with eight 
hundred men, as prisoners of war, and the whole of West Flor- 
ida, thus fell into the hands of the King of Spain. The victori- 
ous Galvez received many honors for his brilliant services.* 

* Spanish MS. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Extreme Perils and Sufferings of the Natchez Refugees. 

During the siege of Pensacola, a series of events, of an in- 
teresting and romantic character, began at Natchez, and after- 
wards ended, with unparalelled sufferings, in the vast Indian 
wilderness, which extended from thence to the Ogechee river, in 
the distant province of Georgia. Some citizens of the Natchez 
district, the most prominent of whom were Philip Al- 
1781 ston, Colonel Hutchens, John Alston, Captain Thaddeus 
Lyman, Thompson Lyman, Jacob Blomont, and Jacob 
Winfrey, put themselves at the head of a large party of royalists, 
for the purpose of seizing Fort Panmure, and expelling there- 
from the Spanish troops, who had held it since September, 1780. 
They had learned that a powerful British fleet was off the Florida 
coast, whose object was the re-occupation of the country, and, 
believing that Don Galvez had already been defeated at Pensa- 
cola, they resolved immediately to anticipate what they sup- 
posed would be the desire of their King. Having as- 
Apr. *22 sembled a large body of Choctaws, the insurgents as- 
sumed a position upon an eminence, above the town of 
Natchez, in full view of the fort. At night they advanced and 
planted their artillery so as to bear upon the works ; but, when 
day approached, the Spanish cannonade compelled them to re- 
tire. During the succeeding twenty-four hours, the firing con- 
tinued between the parties. The commandant sent a flag to 
Colonel Hutchens, representing the danger of rebellion, 
1781 and promising the clemency of his government, if the 
Apr. 29 people would disperse, after they should have surren- 

352 



PERILS AND SUFFERINGS OF NATCHEZ REFUGEES. 353 

dered the ringleaders. An answer was promised, to be re- 
turned the next day. During the interval, the malcontents ar- 
rested a man bearing a despatch to the Spanish commandant. 
It was from Captain Mcintosh, a warm friend of the Spaniards, 
who lived in the neighborhood, and who wrote, entreating the 
commandant to hold out a little while longer, when he would 
be supported by friends from the country. His letter was de- 
stroyed, and another substituted, written by one who could imi- 
tate the autograph of Mcintosh. It was conveyed to the Span- 
ish commandant, and disclosed the astounding news, that the 
insurgents, by means of a deep ravine, which was at the 
base of the fort, had formed a cavern, leading directly April 
under the fort, in which a vast quantity of powder had 
been placed, ready to be exploded by a train ; that the people of 
the country were flocking to the standard of the enemy, and he, 
consequently, suggested an honorable surrender. Not suspect- 
ing the fraud, the Spanish commandant, in his confusion and 
alarm, surrendered the fort, and marched his garrison to Baton 
Rouge. 

But the exulting insurgents were, in a few days, deprived 
of the fruits of their victory. The news reached them, that 
General Campbell was defeated, and that the whole of West 
Florida had been surrendered to Spain. Consternation seized 
every one. They knew that they should receive no mercy at the 
hands of those whom they had harassed by rebellion and 
conquered by stratagem. Abandoning the fort they fled 1781 
to the cane swamps, with their wives, children, horses, May 
and movable effects, with the determination of cutting 
their way to the British settlements on the Savannah.* The 
avenues by the Mississippi were closed against them by the Span- 
iards below and the American whigs above. In a short time 
more than one hundred individuals, besides slaves, mounted 
upon horses, and with other horses laden with their effects, set 

* Memoirs and Adventures of Phelps, Appendix, pp. 4-5. Monette, vol. 2, pp. 462-3. 

23 



:;r> [ history of Alabama, 



off to avoid che Spaniards, whom they had expected hourly to 
arrive at Natchez. Many of the Qhildren w^ere small, and gome 
were at the breast. They began their painful and distressing 
flight by striking towards the prairie country in the present 
State <>f Mississippi. Wishing to avoid the Chick asawa and 
Choctaws, into whose power they feared to fall, a circuitous 

route, was wholly unavoidable, and they wandered from point to 

point, as their desperate circumstances led them, it was during 

an unusually dry spring, and the prairies, which they had now 

reached, afforded them no water. At one time Limy sultered 

from the want of it with an intensity more than ordinary human 

beings, it would seem, could bear. Bordering upon desperation 

and becoming bewildered, the general direction, which they had 
endeavored to keep, was abandoned, and they now strolled over 

the country, with parched lips, under the burning rays 

1781 <>f the sun, and amid the heart-rending cries of the chil- 

,lune dren. Ever and anon their eyes fell upon distant clumps 

of trees, and their Spirits revived, in the hope that there 

certainly would he found the sweet beverage of nature;. Pushing 

on to tin; delusive spot, they found it as moistureless as tin; land 
over which they had traveled. Mrs. Dwight, a heroine upon this 
event fill march, was descended from one of the best families of 
New England. She exhorted tin; miserable Caravan tO persevere; 
in their efforts to tind water, although more; than thirty-six hours 
had passed since they had Wet their mouths. They now halted 
and erected a small camp. The men, Leaving the women and 
Children in the camp, hunted for hours for wafer, but towards 

evening returned with their tongues exposed and fell down in 
despair. The noble Mrs. Dwight now set out, in company with 

several men and women. Fortune Led her to the foot, of two ad- 
joining hills. The surface of the ground was spongy, and here by 

her directions they began todig. Hitherto they had not resorted 
to this plan, but had wandered from point, to point, expecting to 

tind running streams. Theiigns of moisture increased, and pres- 



PEBILS and BUFFEBINGS OF WA.TOHBZ REFUGEES. ^- r >. r > 

ently slow drippings eommenoed. Eiedoubling their exertions they 
struck a fountain. "Thank God!" was the shout of ail. A mes- 
senger rapidly bore back the tidings. r rh<; miserable wretches 
rose from the ground and rushed to tin; spot.. Dr. Dwight, the 
husband of the lady mentioned above, stationed a guard over 
the spring, until, by bathing the temples and the palms of the 

bands, they could drink a lew drops, without fatal consequences. 

Willi their horses, also, who seemed as ii' they would tear up the 
very earth, and destroy everything that obstructed their passage 
to the wider, they adopted the prudent course, of allow- 
ing small quantities at a time. All night, a continual 1781 
drinking went on. The next day, filling their vessels June 

from this spring, they continued northeast, and, on that 

day, happily reached some of the sources of tin; Toinbigby. But 
now then- provisions were exhausted. They killed and devoured 
the few things which crossed their route, and the meat of a large 
terrapin, divided into small pieces, once saved their lives. They 
bad but little ammunition, which was reserved for defence alone. 
Having lost, their compass, they could only follow the sun, which 
was sometimes obscured by clouds. It rained occasionally, now 

that they had crossed the prairies. Now and then they came 

across small bunting parties of Indians, who, at night, robbed 

them of their puck-horses and plundered their effects. In addi- 
tion to all these misfortunes, a loathsome disease spread in the 
camp. Finally, alter wandering nearly to the Tennessee river, 
and then marching in a nearly southern direction! they reached 
the Tombigby, about the site of the present town of Aberdeen, 
where they crossed upon rafts, constructed of dry logs. They 

next made the Warrior, at tin; Tuscaloosa Falls, which they 

crossed, by alternately wading and swimming, from rook to rock. 
Unfortunately, from this point, they assumed an Improper direc- 
tion. Fearing to follow any trail, they, after a long- time, found 
themselves among the mountains of Blount, county, Alabama. 
Having conn; thus far, again, towards tin; Tennessee, they thought 



356 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



that they might reach Georgia, by way of the Cherokee nation, 
and they continued in that direction, until, one day, in a distant 
valley, they saw some persons approaching. All was breathless 
suspense. Presently an old Indian-trader, with two 
1781 Chickasaw Indians, rode up, for they were now upon a 
June trail. Shocked at the condition of the miserable caravan, 
the trader generously gave them all the provisions he 
had, and shared among them his last gallon of taffai.* He 
warned them not to attempt to reach Georgia through the Ten- 
nessee mountains, for they would meet with insurmountable 
obstacles, and be cut off by the Cherokees, many of 
1781 whom were now in the interest of the whigs ; but ad- 
June vised them to assume a southern direction, and enter 
the Creek nation, the inhabitants of which were entirely 
under the influence of Colonel McGillivray, who was a man of 
humanity, and a friend of King George. Turning immediately 
southward, they once more struck through the woods, re-crossed 
the mountains, and, after incessant toil and hunger, passed over 
those which border the Cahawba. Most of them had to walk, 
and lead their horses over the perilous rocks, while their naked 
feet bled at every pore. Finally, the caravan arrived upon the 
banks of the Coosa, in the upper part of the present county of 
Autauga, a few miles below the Big Island. Here the river was 
wide and deep, and its bottom rocky. But occasionally it whs 
partially obstructed by small clumps of rocks, between which 
rushed the rapid current. 

The feeble wanderers lay down upon the wild banks, with- 
out energy to construct a raft. Indeed, some believed that a raft 
would be torn to pieces by the rocks. Mrs. Dwight, who con- 
tinued to infuse a spirit of resolution into the party* 
1781 which had, thus far, overcome all difficulties, put her- 
July self forward, and declared that, if but one man would ac- 
company her, she would attempt the passing of the river, 

* A mean New England rum, the only spirituous liquor drunk, in those clays, by the 
Indians. 



PERILS AND SUFFERINGS OF NATCHEZ REFUGEES. 357 

when, perhaps, on the other side, they might find a canoe, or some 
better crossing place. Her husband, roused by her intrepidity, 
swore that he would not suffer his wife to risk her life for the 
good of the company without sharing in her perils. These two, 
with one other, then plunged their horses into the river, and the 
current carried them some distance down to a dry bed of rocks. 
Proceeding over these, to the farther end of the ledge, the two 
horsemen plunged from a steep rock and disappeared under the 
water, but presently arose, and their faithful horses carried them 
to the opposite shore. Mrs. Dwight, shutting her eyes, then made 
the fearful leap, and arose with her hands hold of the horn of her 
saddle. She, too, happily reached the opposite shore. Then the 
fearless party gave a whoop, to encourage their anxious friends, 
whom they had left behind. A mile above this they found a 
large, old Indian canoe, which had been stove against the rocks. 
Stopping the seams with whatever they could obtain, the two 
men went over the river in it, to their comrades, leaving the spir- 
ited Mrs. Dwight with the horses. Then the wide and angry 
Coosa roared and lashed its shores, separating her from every 
friend she had upon earth. 

In the course of that day and the next, the whole party were 
safely boated over. Proceeding some twenty miles farther, they 
approached the Creek town, called by the traders the " Hickory 
Ground," embraced in the southern suburbs of the present We- 
tumpka, on the east bank of the same river which they had 
crossed. It is impossible to imagine a more forlorn band, or one 
more agitated by hopes and fears. This was the first Indian 
town which they had the boldness to approach, since they left 
Xatchez, for, indeed, during the whole of their travels, they ex- 
pected, every moment, to be tracked out, and all suddenly butch- 
ered. They now held a consultation, and it was decided 
to despatch three of their most plausible men, as ambas- 1781 
sadors, to implore the compassion and hospitality of the July 
inhabitants. With palpitating hearts, these men rode on, 



858 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

leaving their companions behind to await the issue. As they rode 
up to the square, the squaws were hoeing their green corn, and 
the warriors reposed by the sides of their cabins. The reader has 
often seen the fierce mastiff, as he slumbered in the yard, or the 
tiger of a menagerie as he dozed in his cage arouse out of his 
sleep, erect his ears, move his tail, and throw his fiery eyes upon 
strangers as they entered. He can then imagine the sudden 
and fierce looks which the lusty warriors bestowed upon these 
haggard, way-worn and miserable men. Colonel McGillivray, 
unfortunately, was from home, for this place was one of his resi- 
dences. The Indians scanned their saddles closely, and, as they 
were like those of the Georgians, they believed they were whigs. 
In vain they asserted they were royalists, and good friends of 
the Creeks. About seventy of the savages formed a circle around 
them. In vain did they allege the defenceless state of them- 
selves, their company behind, with their wretched women and 
children, their destitution of provisions, and the frank and 
friendly manner in which they had entered their town. The 
expedition appeared to be mysterious, the motives which led to 
it inexplicable, and the unfortunate saddles, upon which 
1781 they rode, contradictory to all their professions. A ve- 
July hement debate began among the Indians, of which only 
a few ill-boding words were understood, such as Vir- 
ginians, ! long knives! no good! From all appearances, the fate 
of the wanderers was sealed. Instantly every warrior seized his 
knife, every face became distorted with wrath, every eye lighted 
up with fierce and gloomy vengeance. 

Colonel McGillivray had a body servant. He was a smart 
black fellow, named Paro, who understood the English language 
as well as he did the Indian tongue. He had been off on a jour- 
ney, and, at this moment, rode up among the excited throng. 
He demanded the cause of the tumult. They replied that these 
strangers were Georgians, were bad men, no friends to them or 
to their father, the King of Great Britain, and ought to be put to 



X 



PERILS AND SUFFERINGS OF NATCHEZ REFUGEES. 359 

death. The ambassadors now appealed to the negro, and gave 
him an account of the nature of their journey. He expressed 
himself fully satisfied, and endeavored to disabuse the minds of 
the savages. But they remained inflexible, when Paro called 
them fools and madmen. On account of their fear of McGilliv- 
ray, they did not resent his offensive language, but assured him 
that the death of the strangers, and their friends behind, was 
resolved upon. A warrior, more moderate than the rest, said to 
the white men, " If you tell the truth, make the paper talk." 
The ingenious Paro caught the idea, and asked the men if they 
had not kept a journal of their travels. They replied, No! He 
then asked if they had any paper about them, with writing on it, 
and said anything would do. One of them found an old letter in 
his pocket, which, according to the directions of Paro, he pre- 
tended to read, slowly and solemnly, giving a complete history of 
their flight from Natchez, and the cause of it. Paro, all the time, 
interpreted it to the Indians, with great animation. As the 
recital went on, their countenances gradually softened, and, be- 
fore it was finished, the gloom gave way to a smile, and the 
ferocity was succeeded by friendship. The whole body 
put up their knives, and coming, one by one, to the am- 1781 
bassadors, shook them cordially by the hand, and wel- July 
corned them to the town. They presently brought in 
the whole caravan, lodged them in their houses, fed them at their 
tables, and " poured oil upon their wounds." 

When this party of royalists had sufficiently recruited, 
they proceeded on their route, crossed the Tallapoosa, Chat- 
tahoochie and Flint, and then divided their company, and 
separated. One of the parties shaped their course down 
towards East Florida, and finally reached Savannah in safety. 
The other party were taken prisoners by the whigs, but 
shortly afterwards were released. Strange to say, not 1781 
one died, or was killed, upon the whole route from Nat- Aug. 
chez, which was accomplished in one hundred and forty- 
nine davs. 



360 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Several of the Lymans, called the "unhappy family," were 
in this singular expedition. Two of the daughters of the late 
General Lyman died after reaching Savannah. Three of his 
sons were also in company. When the British evacuated Geor- 
gia, one of them went to New York, another to Nova Scotia, and 
the third to Providence. They all died with broken hearts. Few 
have been born to higher hopes ; few have begun life with a 
fairer promise of prosperity than their honorable father, and, for 
a time, no American possessed a more extensive reputation.* 

Colonel Hutchens, with one of his friends, also fled from 
Fort Panmure to the swamps. Receiving information 
1781 that the Indians were in pursuit of him, he set off, with 
twenty men, upon horses, intending to overtake the 
larger party, whose peregrinations we have just described. They 
left their families and most valuable effects. Hutchens aban- 
doned an excellent plantation, with twenty workers upon it, an 
immense body of land, and seventeen hundred head of cattle. 
The Spaniards confiscated the whole of it, except a bare support 
for his wife. On the second night of their flight, the Choctaws 
overtook them, and killed all of them but Hutchens and one 
other man, who fled towards Georgia and arrived there naked, 
sunburnt, starved, and worn down with fatigue. John Alston, 
and another small party, escaping to tha Creek nation, were 
there arrested by the Indians, carried to Mobile, and from thence 
to New Orleans, where, after being tried for rebellion, they were 
condemned to die. But the governor pardoned them. 
1781 During the fall of 1781 the property of all these unfor- 
tunate people was confiscated. f 
In the meantime, the wild region upon the Cumberland river 
was explored, and some temporary establishments formed at the 



* Travels in New York and New England, by Theodore Dwight, S.T.D., LL.D., late 
President of Yale College, vol. 1. pp. 306-316. Memoirs and Adventures of Phelps, Ap- 
pendix, pp. 2-17. I also held conversations with several old Indian traders, of the 
(reek nation, two of whnm, when youths, were at the Hickory Ground when these re- 
treating royalists arrived there. 

t Phelps' Memoirs, Appendix, pp. 17-19. 



PERILS AND SUFFERINGS OF NATCHEZ REFUGEES. 361 

bluff, on which is now situated the city of Nashville. Captain 
James Robertson was the hero of these bold adventures, 
and had seveial times, with a small party of men, cut 1779 
his way from extreme East Tennessee to that country, 
passing over the lofty Cumberland mountains and through 
dangerous Indian settlements. Returning to the Holston, after 
having made several of these trips, he raised a large com- 
pany of emigrants, and built boats at Long Island. When 
they were nearly ready to be launched, he placed himself at 
the head of a horse party, and set out over the mountains 
for the Cumberland, intending to leave signs upon the trees 
at the head of the Muscle Shoals, after going from Nashville 
to that place. These signs he intended for the purpose of letting 
the voyagers know whether it would be practicable for them to 
disembark at the Muscle Shoals and go to the Cumberland by 
land. 

A large number of flat boats, filled with emigrants and their 
effects, began the voyage from Long Island, upon the Holston. 
Those recollected will be mentioned, for the gratification of 
descendants. The large Donaldson family, who, after 
reaching the Cumberland, settled upon Stone's river, 1779 
and became connected by affinity with General Andrew Dec. 22 
Jackson, all embarked on this occasion, Among the 
others were Robert Cartwright, Benjamin Porter, Mary Henry, 

Mary Purnell, James Cain, Isaac Neely, John Cotton, Roun- 

sever, Jonathan Jennings, William Cutchfield, Moses, Joseph and 

James Renfroe, Solomon Turpin, Johns, Francis Armstrong, 

Isaac Lanier, Daniel Dunham, John Boyd, John Montgomery, 
John Cockrill, Mrs. Robertson, the wife of Captain Rob- 
ertson, John Blackmail and John Gibson. These per- 1779 
sons had families with them, besides slaves. 

In consequence of great difficulty in descending the Holston 
and many unavoidable delays, the rude fleet did not 
reach the mouth of the French Broad until March 2. It 1780 



362 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



was then the habit to tie up at sunset, encamp upon the 
banks and around large fires, and to make the wild forests re- 
sound with noise and merry peals of laughter. All were now 
happy and filled with the most pleasing excitement. But when 
they approached the Cherokee towns below they observed great 
caution. When near Nickajaek they were fired upon from both 
banks of the river by the savages, but keeping in the middle re- 
ceived no material injury. However, unfortunately, a boat be- 
longing to Stewart, containing his family and negroes, amounting 
to twenty-eight souls, who had been compelled to keep behind a 
few miles on account of the small pox which they had taken, 
were all killed by the Indians, while their companions in advance 
could afford them no assistance. In passing the celebrated 
" Suck " the boats were again fired upon, when several of the 
voyagers were severely wounded. In the midst of the dismay 
and confusion a young woman, named Nancy Glover, seized the 
oar of her father's boat and steered it safely through the narrows, 
exposed to all the firing, and receiving a severe wound, of which 
she never complained. When the terrified voyagers had passed 
this place they entered a wide and smooth sheet of water, and 
were out of danger. But just at the termination of the narrows 
the boat of Jonathan Jennings was stove upon a large rock. The 
voyagers were forced to leave these unhappy people. The Indians 
coming upon them, all the effects were thrown out of the boat in 
great haste, and it was shoved off with Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. 
Peyton in it, who singularly made their escape. The Indians 
captured Jennings, his son, a negro, and a young man with them, 
and carried them to Chickamauga, where they soon burned the 
latter to death by a slow fire. They knocked Jennings down 
with a club, but his life was spared by Rodgers, a trader, who 
ransomed him. After being again attacked near the head of the 
Muscle Shoals, they finally reached those cataracts, where a con- 
sultation was held. Being unable, upon a diligent search, to find 
the signals of Captain Robertson on the north bank, they resolved 



PERILS AND SUFFERINGS OF NATCHEZ REFUGEES. 363 

to trust their boats to the angry waves below. Fortunately the 
swollen state of the river carried them safely over the extended 
shoals. Reaching the mouth of the Tennessee on the 20th of 
March, an affecting and painful separation took place — Colonel 
Donaldson and more than half the voyagers going up the Cum- 
berland, and the remainder to Natchez and the Illinois.* 

* Haywood's History of Tennessee, pp. 85-94. Mrs. Rachel Jackson, the wife of Gen- 
eral Jackson, and the daughter of Colonel Donaldson, who was then but a little girl, 
was with this party. 







Ancient Indian Fortifications, at Little River Falls, Cherokee County, Ala- 
bama, from a Sketch by A. J. Pickett, who visited that 
place, in October, 1850. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
The Spaniards in Alabama and Mississippi. 

England, having lost her West Florida provinces by the 
victories of Galvez, and having the American whigs, as well as 
the natives of France, Spain and Holland, arrayed against her, 
was finally forced to retire from the unequal contest. 
A preliminary treaty of peace was signed at Paris. 1782 
England there acknowledged our independence, and Nov. 30 
admitted our southern boundary to be as follows: A 
line beginning at the Mississippi, at 31° north of the equator, and 
extending due east to the Chattahoochie river ; down that river 
to the mouth of the Flint, and thence to the St. Mary's, and along 
that river to the sea. Great Britain also expressly stipulated, in 
that treaty, our right to the navigation of the Mississippi river, 
from its mouth to its source. 

Great Britain and Spain entered into a treaty. 
The former warranted and confirmed to the latter 1783 
the province of West Florida, and ceded to her East Jan. 20 
Florida.* 

But although England, by the treaty of 1782, assigned to 
the United States all the territory between the Mississippi and 
the Chattahoochie, lying between the parallels of latitude 31° 
and 32° 28', embracing the same portion of the territory of Ala- 
bama and Mississippi, which lay in the British province of West 
Florida, yet it was not surrendered to us by Spain for years 
afterwards. Spain occupied it, contending that Great Britain, 
in the treaty with her, in 1783, warranted the province of West 

* American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, p. 132. 

365 



866 BISTORT OF ALABAMA. 

Florida to her, not defining its northern limits, and that England 
had no right to restrict her limits, even if she had attempted it, 
for Spain had, before the negotiations commenced, acquired all 
of West Florida, by conquest, through the victorious arms of 
Don Galvez. 

Turning to Georgia, with which this history will now be 
much connected, we And that that province; continued to consist, 
as at the time of its colonization by Oglethorpe, of a narrow 
strip of country, between the Savannah and Ogechee rivers, until 
lTT.'J, when, as we have already seen, Governor Wright acquired 

from the Creeks and Cherokees a strip of country north 

1788 of this, extending above Broad river. The Legislature 

May .'51 of Seorgia elected commissioners, who met a delegation 

of Cherokees at Augusta. The latter ceded to Georgia 
the country upon the western side of the Tugalo, including the 

head waters of the Oconee. A small delegation of the 
Nov. 1 Creeks also assembled at Augusta, and agreed to the 

boundary made with the Cherokees. Thus, as Georgia 
supposed, the lines between her and those tribes were, for a 
while, determined. But the treaty made with the Creeks was 
denounced by a Large majority of that nation, as obtained un- 
fairly, and with the representation of scarcely any of the towns.* 
But, before entering upon these; exciting topics, it will be 
necessary to recur once more tro the close of the war. Jt has been 
observed, that Lachlan McGillivray, previous to the revolution, 
owned extensive trading-houses in Savannah and Augusta, and 
plantations upon the river. lie was an active and influential 
royalist, and the whigs of Georgia and Carolina sensibly felt his 
weight. When the British were torced to evacuate Savannah, 
he sailed with them to his native country, having scraped together 
a vast amount of money and movable effects. His plantations 
and negroes he abandoned, in the hope that his son, Alexander, 
his two daughters, and his Indian wife, Sehoy, then living upon 
* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, folio edition, vol. l, p. £$. 



Ill 10 SPANIARDS IN ALAI'.AMA AM) M I SSISSI TIM . 867 

the Coosa, might be suffered to Inherit them. But the whigs 
confiscated tin? whole of this valuable property, with the ex- 
ception of a few negroes, who fled t<> the nation, and were added 
to those already at the residence of Seboy. Thus, Col. Alexander 
McGillivray was deprived of a large patrimony, while his affec- 
tionate father was forced to flee the country. Another Scotch 
man, remarkable for bis great commercial enterprise and capital 

sons*;, must also be introduced. 

William Panton was horn in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and, 
at an early period, sailed for America, and landed in Charles- 
ton, ih- became an extensive Indian merchant, and owned 
Large estates, in South Carolina and Georgia; but, at an early 

period of the war, was driven from these provinces, and his es- 
tates confiscated. He then established himself upon the St. 
Mary's. In 1781, when the Spaniards took Pensacola, he was 
residing there, owning an extensifve trading house. Be soon 
formed a commercial treaty with Spain, which enabled him to 
become enriched, while the government of Florida was strength- 
ened by his influence with the Indian tribes south of the Tennes- 
see. Ho had formed an acquaintance with Colonel McGillivray, 
and was struck with the power of his mind. Knowing that be 
had been deserted by the British, he sought to place him under 
the, wing of Spain, lor tin- personal advancement of the great 

Chieftain himself, who he expected would, in return, promote his 
Indian commerce. 1 1 c 5 introduced him to the Spanish authorities 

of West Florida. According to arrangement, Colonel 
McGillivray went to Pensacola, and entered into a treaty 1784 

of alliance with Spain. Spain was represented by Don June 1 

Miro, of New Orleans, Governor of West Florida; Don 
Arthur O'Neill, Commandant of Pensacola; and Don Martin Na- 
varro, [ntendant-General of Florida. Colonel McGillivray rep. 
resented the whole Creek and Seminole nations. It was stipu- 
lated that the Creek and Seminole Indians should defend and 

sustain the cause of bis Catholic Majesty, and obey bis orders, 



368 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



through his Captain-General of the provinces of the Floridas and 
Louisiana, in those points which are compatible with Indian char- 
acter; that Spain should proportion among the Indians a desira- 
ble and permanent commerce at the most judicious places ; that 
the Creeks should establish a general peace with the Cbick- 
asaws, Choctaws and Cherokees; that all strangers, introducing 
themselves among the Indians for the purpose of stirring up re- 
bellion against the King of Spain, should immediately 

1784 be seize^and conveyed to the Governor of Pensacola; 
that the Indians should admit no white person into their 

country who did not bear a Spanish permit; that they should 
abandon the practice of taking scalps, if engaged in war; that 
they should deliver up all white prisoners, subjects of the United 
States, and not admit inU. ejheir nations fugitive slaves from the 
provinces of Louisiana and Florida, but should apprehend and de- 
liver them to the commandarVfs.* 

Colonel McGillivray was induced to form an alliance with 
the Spaniards for various reasons, the chief of which were that 
the whigs, as he contended, had confiscated his estates, banished 
his father, threatened him with death and his nation with exter- 
mination, and were constantly encroaching upon Creek soil. The 
Spaniards wanted no lands — desired only his friendship, and had 
not encroached upon him or his people. Besides, they were the 
first to offer him promotion and commercial advantages. When 
he had signed the treaty, they made him a Spanish commissary, 
with the rank and pay of colonel. 

Great dissatisfaction arose, as has been stated, in consequence 
of the treaty at Augusta and the occupation of the 

1785 Creek lands. Border war commenced. The Spanish 
authorities fomented these discords between the Creeks 

and Georgians, for the purpose of monopolizing the entire com- 
merce of the nation. Colonel McGillivray exerted himself to 

* American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, pp. 223-227. 



THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 

defeat all attempts at peaceable negotiation, now undertaken by 
those who had charge of our national affairs. 

The provisional Congress appointed Benjamin Hawkins, An- 
drew Pickens, Joseph Martin and Lachlan Mcintosh, commis- 
sioners, to treat with the Southern Indians. Pickens addressed 
a letter to Colonel McGillivray, urging him to meet 
them at a convenient place, at the head of all the Chiefs 1785 
of the nation, to enter into treaties of friendship. The 
Alabama Talleyrand replied, and we will publish his able and 
ingenious letter, as the reader can better understand from it the 
character of the man, and of the times of which he writes, than 
by a narration from the author : 

"Little Tallase,* 5th Sept., 1785. 

'■'Sir — I am favored with your letter by Brandon, who, after 
detaining it near a month, sent it by an Indian, a few days ago. 
He, perhaps, had some reasons for keeping himself from this 
region. 

"The notification you have sent us is agreeable to our 
wishes, as the meeting is intended for the desirable purpose of 
adjusting and settling matters, on an equitable footing, between 
the United States and the Indian nations. At the same time, I 
cannot avoid expressing my surprise that a measure of this 
nature should have been so long delayed, on your part. When 
we found that the American independence was confirmed by the 
peace, we expected that the new government would 
soon have taken some steps to make up the differ- 1785 
ences that subsisted between them and the Indians dur- Sept. 5 
ing the war, to have taken them under their protection, 
and confirmed to them their hunting grounds. Such a course 
would have reconciled the minds of the Indians, and secured the 
States their friendship, as they considered your people their nat- 

* Little Tallase, four miles above Wetumpka, on the east bank of the Coosa, was one 
of tbe residences of Colonel McGillivray, and from that point he wrote most of his able 
letters. Colonel Howell Rose now owns' the site of Little Tallase, which is embraced in 
a cotton plantation. 

24 



HISTORY OK ALAI'.AMA. 



Ural allies. Tlie (Georgians, whose particular interest it was to 
conciliate, tlu; friendship of tliis nation, have acted, in all respects, 
to the contrary. I am sorry to observe that violence and preju- 
dice have taken place of good policy and reason, in all their pro- 
ceedings with us. They attempted to avail themselves of our 
supposed distressed situation. Their talks to us breathed noth- 
ing i>nt vengeance, and, being entirely possessed with tin; idea 
that we were wholly at their mercy, they never once reflected 

thai colonies of a powerful monarch were nearly surrounding us, 

to whom, in any extremity, we might apply for succor and pro- 
tection, and who, t<» answer some ends of their policy, might 
grant it to us. However, we yet deferred any such proceeding, 
still expecting we could bring them to a true sense of their in- 
terest.; hut still finding no alteration in their conduct towards us, 
we sought the protection of Spain, and treaties of friendship ami 
alliance were mutually entered into — they guaranteeing our hunt- 
ing grounds and territory, and granting us a, free trade; in the 

ports of the Floridas. 

"How the boundary and limits between the Spaniards and 

the States will he determined, a little time will show, as I believe 

that matter is now on foot. However, we know our 

J7S. r ) limits, and the extent of our hunting-grounds. As a 
Sept. . r > free nation, we have applied, as we had a right to do, 
for protection, and obtained it. We shall pay no atten- 
tion to any limits thai may prejudice our claims, that were 
drawn by an American, and confirmed by a British negotiator. 
Yet, notwithstanding we have been obliged to adopt these meas- 
ures for our preservation, and from real necessity, we sincerely 
wish to have it- in our power to be on the same footing with the 
States as before the late unhappy war, to effect which is entirely 
in your power. We want nothing from you but justice. We 
want, our hunting grounds preserved from enoroaohments. They 

have been ours from the beginning of time, and I trust that, with 



Ill K SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 371 

the assistance of our friends, we shall be able to maintain them 
again 8 1 every attempt that may be made to take them from us. 

" Finding our representations to the State of Georgia of no 
effect, in restraining their encroachments, we thought It proper 
to call a meeting of the nation, on the subject. We then came 
to the resolution to send out parties, to remove the Georgians and 
their effects from the lands in question, in the most peaceable 
manner possible 

" Agreeably to your requisition, and to convince you of my 
sincere desire to restore a good understanding between us, I have 
taken t lie necessary steps to prevent any future; predatory ex- 
cursions of my people against any of your settlements. I could 
wish the people «>f Cumberland showed an equal good disposition 
to do what is right. They were certainly the first aggressors 
since the peace, and acknowledged if in a written certificate, left 
at the Indian camp they bad plundered. 

U I have only to add, that we shall meet the Commissioners 
of Congress whenever we shall receive notice, in expec- 
tation that every matter of difference will be settled, 1785 
with that liberality and justice worthy tin; men who Sept. 5 
have so gloriously asserted the cause of Liberty and 
independence, and that we shall, in future, consider them as 
brethren, and defenders of the land.* 

" I am, with much respect, sir, 
" Your obedient servant, 

"ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY." 
" Hon. Andrew Pickens." 

This well-written communication affords the first 
■evidence of the consummate diplomacy of this great na- 1785 
tive Alabamian. The history of this remarkable Indian Oct. 28 
will be found to be full of interest. 

The commissioners of Congress, elated by the conciliatory 

* Indian Attains, vol. 1, \)\>. 17-18. 



372 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

tone of Colonel McGillivray, arrived at Galphinton.* The latter 
failed to appear, and only the Chiefs from two towns, with sixty 
warriors, met them. Disappointed and mortified, the commis- 
sioners declined to treat with so few. In the meantime the 
Georgia commissioners protested against those proceedings which 
the agents of Congress had intended to adopt; but the latter de- 
clined to do anything further than to explain to the Indians the 
policy which the Congress intended to pursue towards them, 
thanked them for their attendance and afterwards departed. No 
sooner had they left than the commissioners representing Georgia 
made a treaty with the Creeks who were present, which con- 
firmed the treaty of Augusta of 1783, and granted to the State of 
Georgia the territory lying on the east side of a line to run from 
the junction of the Oconee and Ockmulgee to the St. Mary's river, 
including all the islands and harbors, and which now constitutes 
more than half the coast of Georgia. What considerations induced 
the Indians to divest themselves of so much territory is not 
stated. The commissioners of Georgia laid before the 
1786 legislature a copy of the articles intended to have been 
proposed to the Creeks by the agents of Congress had a 
sufficient number been present, which that body declared, by 
resolutions, to be subversive of the rights of the State. They in- 
structed their members in Congress to insist on the abolition of 
the powers of the commissioners, while they adopted measures 
for the preservation of the rights of the citizens of Georgia. Ed- 
ward Telfair, John King and Thomas Glasscock received the 
thanks of the General Assembly for their vigilance and patriot- 
ism, and particularly for the treaty which they had made. 

The Georgia Legislature established a county called Houston, 
embracing the territory extending from Nickajack, below 
1785 the Muscle Shoals, out of which are now formed the mod- 
Dec, ern Alabama counties of Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison 
and Jackson. Sevier, Downs, Herd, Donaldson and Lin- 

* This town was named in honor of George Galphin, the great Indian trader. 



THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 373 

sey were appointed commissioners to organize the county of Hous- 
ton. With eighty men, in flat boats, they arrived at the Muscle 
Shoals, and in the western part of the present Lauderdale county 
established a land office, appointed military officers and magis- 
trates, and elected Valentine Sevier to be a member of the Georgia 
Legislature. This remarkable government existed but two weeks, 
when the colonists were driven off by the Indians .* 

Congress appointed James White a superintendent of the 
Creek Indians, who immediately proceeded to the town of Cus- 
seta, upon the Chattahoochie. He addressed a letter to Colonel 
McGillivray, and received the following reply : 

"Little Tallase, 8th April, 1787. 

"Sir; — It is with real satisfaction that I learn of your being 
appointed by Congress for the laudable purpose of enquiring into 
and settling the differences that at present subsist between our 
nation and the Georgians. It may be necessary for you to know 
the cause of these differences and our discontent, which, perhaps, 
have never come to the knowledge of the honorable body that 
sent you to our country. 

" There are Chiefs of two towns in this nation, who, 
during the late war, were friendly to the State of 1787 
Georgia, and had gone, at different times, among those April 8 
people, and once, after the general peace, to Augusta. 
They there demanded of them a grant of lands, belonging to and 
enjoyed as hunting grounds by the Indians of this nation in 
common, on the east of the Oconee river. The Chiefs rejected 
the demand, on the plea that these lands were the hunting 
grounds of the nation, and could not be granted by two indi- 
viduals; but, after a few days, a promise was extorted from 
them, that, on their return to our country, they would use their 
influence to get a grant confirmed. Upon their return, a general 
convention was held at Tookabatcha, when these two Chiefs were 

* Haywood's History of Tennessee, pp. 157-158. 



374 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

severely censured, and the Chiefs of ninety-eight towns agreed 
upon a talk, to be sent to Savannah, disapproving, in the strongest 
manner, of the demand made upon their nation, and denying the 
right of any two of their country to make cession of land, which 
could only be valid by the unanimous voice of the whole, as joint 
proprietors in common. Yet these two Chiefs, regardless of the 
voice of the nation, continued to go to Augusta, and other places 
within that State. They received presents and made promises ; 
but our customs did not permit us to punish them for the crime. 
We warned the Georgians of the dangerous consequences that 
would certainly attend the settling of the lands in question. Our 
just remonstrances were treated with contempt, and these lands 
were soon filled with settlers. The nation, justly alarmed at the 
encroachments, resolved to use force to maintain their rights; 
yet, being averse to the shedding of the blood of a people whom 
we would rather consider as friends, we made another effort to 
awaken in them a sense of justice and equity. But we found, 
from experience, that entreaty could not prevail, and parties of 
warriors were sent, to drive off the intruders, but were instructed 
to shed blood, only where self-preservation made it necessary. 
"This was in May, 1780. In October following, Ave were 
invited by commissioners, of the State of Georgia, to 
1787 meet them in conference, at the Oconee, professing a 
April 8 sincere desire for an amnable adjustment of our dis- 
putes, and pledging their sacred honors for the safety 
and good treatment of all those that should attend and meet 
them. It not being convenient for many of us to go to the 
proposed conference, a few, from motives of curiosity, attended. 
They were surprised to find an armed body of men, prepared 
for and professing hostile intentions. Apprehensions for per- 
sonal safety induced those Chiefs to subscribe to every de- 
mand that was asked by the army and its commissioners. Lands 
were again demanded, and the lives of some of our Chiefs were 
required, as well as those of some innocent traders, as sacrifice 



THE SPANIARDS IN ALAHAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 375 

to appease their anger. Assassins have been employed to effect 
some part of their atrocious purposes. If T fall by the hand 
of such, I shall fall the victim of the noblest of causes, that 
of maintaining the just rights of my country. I aspire to 
the honest ambition of meriting the appellation of the preserver 
of my country, equally with the Chiefs among you, whom, from 
acting on such principles, you have exalted to the highest pitch 
of glory. And if, after every peaceable mode of obtaining a re- 
dress of grievances proved fruitless, a recourse to arms to obtain 
it be a mark of the savage, and not of the soldier, what savages 
must the Americans be, and how much undeserved ap- 
plause have your Cincinnatus, your Fabius, obtained. 1787 
If a war name had been necessary to distinguish April 8 
that Chief, in such a case, the Man-Killer, the Great 
Destroyer, would have been the proper appellation. 

H I had appointed the Cussetas, for all the Chiefs of the 
Lower Creeks to meet in convention. I shall be down in a few 
days, when, from your timely arrival, you will meet the Chiefs, 
and learn their sentiments, and I sincerely hope that the propo- 
sitions which you shall offer us will be such as we can safely ac- 
cede to. The talks of the former commissioners, at Galphinton, 
were much approved of, and your coming from the White Town 
(seat of Congress) has raised great expectations that you will 
remove the principal and almost only cause of our dispute, that 
is, by securing to us our hunting grounds and possessions, free 
from all encroachments. When we meet, we shall taik these 
matters over. Meantime, I remain, 

•' With regard, your obedient servant, 

"ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY." 
" Hon. James White." 

Dr. White met McGillivray at Cusseta, with a large number 
of Lower Creeks, when the Superintendent desired them to ratify 
the treaties of Augusta, Galphinton and Shoulderbone, and 



376 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



1787 to make arrangements for running the boundary 
April 10 line around the ceded territory. The Chiefs boldly op- 
posed the proposition, and declared that their " lands 
were their life and breath, and if they parted with them they 
parted with their blood." The two Chiefs, who conveyed away 
these lands, being severely censured, stated that the Georgians 
compelled them to make the grant by threats and the nourish of 
long knives. 

McGillivray startled the Superintendent with a new propo- 
sition. He said: "Notwithstanding I prompt the Indians to 
defend their lands, I look upon the United States as our most 
natural ally. Two years I waited before I would seek the alli- 
ance I have formed. I was compelled to it. I could not but re- 
sent the greedy encroachments of the Georgians, to say nothing 
of their scandalous and illiberal abuse. But I will now put it to 
the test, whether they or myself entertain the most generous 
sentiments of respect for Congress. If that honorable body can 
form a government to the southward of the Altamaha, I will be 
the first to take the oath of allegiance, and, in return to the 
Georgians for yielding to the United States that claim, I will ob- 
tain a regular and peaceable grant of the lands on the Oconee, on 
which they have deluded people to settle, under the pretence of 
grants from the Indians, and which you yourself (Dr. White) 
have seen are most ill-founded. I will give you till the first of 
August for an answer." 

Thus terminated the council, and the Superintendent found 
himself baffled and perplexed by the ingenuity of McGillivray, 
who always managed to defeat any scheme of the Federal Gov- 
ernment. 

The Georgians on the other hand, denied the charges of vio- 
lence and fraud, contended that a sufficient delegation 
1787 of Indians were present to make the grants, and that 
Apr. 10 they were procured from them fairly and honorably, 
without threats or the display of knives. They con- 



THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 377 

tended that the Upper Creeks, who never occupied the Oconee 
lands, had no right to have a voice in the matter. They ad- 
mitted that, at the treaty of Shoulderbone, in 1786, they had 
armed troops present; but they were there for the purpose of 
suppressing hostilities, should they show themselves. They also 
admitted that, for enforcing a compliance of the treaty, they car- 
ried hostages to Augusta, which had been customary in all for- 
mer negotiations with savages.* 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 18-23. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
Bloody Scenes in Alabama am» Georgia, 
At t liis period, some exciting scenes occurred in the region 

now known as North Alabama. We have already followed a 

party of emigrants to the Cumberland. Many others 

177!) Booked to that country, and it soon became well settled, 

17SD for a wild country. The Upper Creeks and Cherokees 

coni in u ally made war upon these Cumberland people. 

The Frenoh, upon the Wabash, had, for a Long time, carried on a 

commerce, near the sites of the present (owns of Tuseuinbia ;uid 

Plorenoe. So long as 1M. Viez was at the head of this trade, the 
Cumberland people were not harassed; but, recently, be had 
been suooeeded by others, who supplied the Indians with arms, 

and enOOUraged them tO attack the American settlements. The 
latter had only acted upon the del'ensi ve, hut it was now deter- 
mined to advanoe upon the frontier towns of the [n- 
I7s7 dians. One hundred and thirty men assembled, from 
June I different parts of the Cumberland region, and marohed, 

under Colonel James Kobcrtson, to the Tennesse river, 
piloted by tWO ChiokasaWS. David Hays was despatched from 
Nashville with boats, laden with provisions, destined for the Mus- 
cle Shoals. Descending the Cumberland, he was furiously at- 
tacked by the Indians, at, the mouth of Duck river, and, after 
some of his men had been killed and Others wounded, he re- 
turned tO Nashville with his boats. Owing to this the horse- 
men were without food during the greater part of the expedi- 
tion. 

Striking the Tennessee at a point very near the present 

:i7K 



BLOODY SCENES IN ALABAMA AND GEORGIA. 379 

town of Florence, Colonel Robertson concealed his men. 
A well-beaten path was discovered, leading down the 1787 
banks, and on the south side of the river stood some June 
cabins, in view. Seven men were placed in the canes, 
to observe the movements of the Indians. A canoe was seen to 
move to an island, filled with natives, who there plunged into the 
river and engaged in bathing. They then returned to the south 
bank, evidently watching for the Americans, of whose approach 
they had gained some vague intelligence. Captain Rains had set 
out up the river, with fifteen men, with orders to capture an Indian 
alive; but, after inarching to the mouth of Blue Water, he re- 
turned, without having made any discovery. When the shadows 
of twilight began to darken the wilderness, the troops assembled, 
in the most noiseless manner, upon the low grounds. The seven 
men, who had watched all day, plunged into the mighty river 
early in the night, and swam to the opposite shore, where they 
discovered that the cabins were unoccupied. Finding a tremen- 
dous canoe, with a hole in the bottom of it, they brought it over 
to the north bank. Stopping the leak with their shirts, Colonel 
Robertson placed in it all the tire-arms, and forty men ; but they 
soon paddled back, in a sinking condition. The party made no 
further attempt to cross, until daylight; then fifty men, with the 
arms and ammunition, went over in the boat, which had now 
been rendered seaworthy, by a piece of linn-bark. The rest of 
the party swain their horses over. A heavy rain coming on, as 
soon as they reached the southern shore they took shelter in the 
cabins. When the clouds had dispersed, they came forth, and 
began the inarch upon a plain path, leading westwardly. At 
about the distance of five miles they reached cornfields, and, 
further on, they came to Cold Water Creek, the same which runs 
by the modern Tuscumbia. The larger portion of the command 
immediately crossed over, and entered upon the low grounds, 
among a number of cabins, distant from the river about three 
hundred yards. The people of the town ran down to their boats. 



380 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Some, in endeavoring to escape, crossed over the creek, to the east 
side, where they, were shot down by Captain Rains and a few 
men stationed there to intercept them. Colonel Robert- 
1787 son charged to the river, and his troops committed havoc 
June on all sides. They killed many of the Indians, who got 
into the boats, and others who had plunged into the 
stream. Three French traders, and a white woman, who would 
not surrender, fled to a boat, and entered it, along with twenty- 
six Indians. The Americans, with one volley, killed them all. 
The chief French trader, and six others, were captured. In 
this town were stores of taffai, and all kinds of Indian mer- 
chandise, arms and ammunition. Colonel Robertson brought 
all the boats up the creek, had a strong guard placed over 
them, and then burned the town, killing the fowls and hogs. 
Next morning, giving to Toka, the Chickasaw guide, and his 
companion, who presently set out for their nation, a liberal sup- 
ply of merchandise and arms, Colonel Robertson buried the 
whites, loaded several of the boats with goods, and placed them 
in charge of three men, who departed down the river with the 
French prisoners. Robertson marched by land, and near Col- 
bert's Ferry overtook the boats, and they all encamped there to- 
gether. To their great joy they found that not a soul had 
received a wound. In the morning the French prisoners, with a 
squaw, were permitted to depart in a boat. They were liberally 
supplied with provisions, and their trunks of clothing were given 
up to them. The sugar and coffee taken at the town were arti- 
cles of great luxury in those days, and were now equally divided 
among the troops. Robertson marched across the country to the 
Cumberland, and thus terminated a fatiguing expedition of nine- 
teen days. The boats with the merchandise proceeded down the 
Tennessee river in charge of Denton and others. On their way 
they met a party of French traders destined for the town which 
they had destroyed, who, in their enthusiasm, fired off their guns 
in a fit of joy, supposing the voyagers were also traders of their 



BLOODY SCENES IN ALABAMA AND GEORGIA. 381 

people. The Americans took advantage of the discharge, and be- 
fore they could re-load, captured the whole party with all their 
goods. Arriving in the Cumberland settlements the merchandise 
was sold at Eaton's Station, and the proceeds divided among the 
troops. 

This expedition produced a short respite from Indian at- 
tacks. The savages, however, rallied, and began a warfare fiercer 
than ever. At length, in the fall, Captain Shannon with a 
mounted party pursued some Creeks from the Cumberland to the 
northern bank of the Tennessee, in the present county 
of Lauderdale, and engaged in a severe fight with Black 1787 
Foot and his clan. Victory at length declared for the 
daring Cumberlanders The Chief was killed with a number of 
his warriors. During this fall the settlers engaged in numerous 
military excursions, upon Duck and Elk rivers, in pursuit of In- 
dians who were retreating from fresh scenes of pillage and blood. 
The magnificent forests of North Alabama were scoured in all 
directions by these intrepid Americans.* 

At the same time the Creeks were active upon the Georgia 
frontier. Enraged at the settlement of the Oconee lands, they 
reduced to ashes the new town of Greensboro, together with the 
court house, killed many inhabitants on various portions of the 
frontier, and carried to the nation white captives, negroes, and 
all sorts of plunder.f Georgia urged the Congress to punish 
these depredators by sending against them an army ; but the na- 
tional agents were reluctant to enter into another war. How- 
ever, Secretary Knox did plan upon paper a Southern army, 
which was not raised, while the Georgians were left to defend 
themselves to the best of their ability. 

Congress, again seeking to interpose by a treaty, appointed 
Kichard Winn, Indian Superintendent, with whom was associ- 
ated George Mathews, on the part of Georgia, and Andrew Pick- 

* Haywood's History of Tennessee, pp. 217-226. 
t Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 23-24. 



382 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



ens, on the part of South Carolina. They opened a negotiation 
with Colonel McGillivray, but he refused to meet them, unless 
they first removed the Georgians from the Oconee lands, within 
the bounds of the old British government. Hostilities, of course, 
continued, for it was now impossible to comply with the bold de- 
mands of McGillivray, who stood upon an enviable and 
1788 independent footing. Caressed by Panton, with whom 
he was a co-partner in an extensive commerce, paid by 
the Spanish government, obeyed by his own people, and many of 
the Cherokees and. Choctaws, and supplicated by the American 
Congress, the Chieftain could well afford to dictate arbitrary 
terms, and continue to advance against the Georgians with hun- 
dreds of his prowling warriors. 

At length, Governor Thomas Pinckney, of South Carolina, 
entered into a correspondence with McGillivray, to endeavor t<> 
bring about a peace and the settlement of the boundary, and 
elicited from him several letters. A portion of one of them runs 
as follows : 

* * * u T ne third invitation which was sent to us to treat, 
was from the Georgians only, through their commissioners, at the 
head of whom was Mr. Habersham, President of the Executive 
Council, and he proposed the Oconee as the place of meeting. 
They pledged their sacred honors for the safety and welfare of 
every Indian that should attend ; but I, being so often threat- 
ened, and having the worst opinion of the back people, as they 
are called, did not go, but sent a few Coweta warriors, to report 
to me on their return. During the conferences of the Oconee, an 
additional cession was demanded, which was strongly opposed by 
the Cowetas and others, for which they were violently insulted 
by a Colonel Clarke, which the commissioners could not prevent. 
Though their sacred honors were pledged for maintaining good 
order, several warriors, of different towns, were forcibly seized 
upon by armed men and conveyed to Augusta, more as prisoners 
than hostages, to be kept as a pledge that my life, and six more 



BLOODY SCENES IN ALABAMA AND GEORGIA. 383 



of the leading men, should be taken. Such conduct convinced 
the whole nation that it was lull time to adopt measures for the 
general safety."* 

About this time, a bloody transaction occurred in the terri- 
tory of the present county ot Conecuh. During the revolution- 
ary war, Colonel McGillivray formed an acquaintance with many 
conspicuous royalists, and, among others, with Colonel 
Kirkland, of South Carolina. That person was at Mc- 1788 
Gillivray's house, upon the Coosa, in 1788, with his 
son, his nephew, and several other gentlemen. They were 
on their way to Pensacola, where they intended to procure 
passports, and settle in the Spanish province of Louisi- 
ana. When they determined to leave his hospitable abode, 
McGillivray sent his servant to guide them to Pensacola. The 
presence of this servant would assure the Indians that they 
were friends, for it was dangerous to travel without the Chief- 
tain's protection. Colonel Kirkland and his party had much 
silver in their saddle-bags. Arriving within a mile of a large 
creek, which flows into the Conecuh, they met a pack-horse 
party, about sunset, going up to the nation. They had been to 
Pensacola, on a trading expedition. This party consisted of a 
Hillabee Indian, who had murdered so many men, that he was 
called Istillicha, the Man-slayer — a desperate white man, 
who had fled from the States for the crime of murder, 1788 
and whom, on account of his activity and ferocity, the 
Indians called the Cat — and a blood-thirsty negro, named Bob, 
the property of Sullivan, a Creek trader of the Hillabees. As 
soon as Colonel Kirkland and his party were out of sight, these 
scoundrels formed an encampment. The former went on, crossed 
the creek, and encamped a short distance from the ford, by the 
side of the trading path. Placing their saddle-bags under their 
heads, and reclining their guns against a tree, Kirkland and his 
party fell asleep. At midnight, the bloody wretches from the 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 19-20. 



384 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



other side, cautiously came over, and, seizing the guns of Kirk- 
land and his men, killed every one of them, except three negroes, 
one of whom was the servant of the great Chieftain, as before 
stated. Dividing the booty, the murderers proceeded to the 
Creek nation, and, when the horrid affair became known, Colonel 
McGillivray sent persons in pursuit of them. Cat was arrested; 
but the others escaped. Milfort was directed to convey the 
scoundrel to the spot where he had shed the blood of these men, 
and there to hang him, until he was dead. Upon the journey to 
that point, Milfort kept him well pinioned, and, every night, se- 
cured his legs in temporary stocks^ made by cutting notches in 
pine logs, and clamping them together. Reaching the creek 
where poor Kirkland and his men were murdered, Cat was sus- 
pended to the limb of a tree, the roots of which were still stained 

with the blood of the unfortunate colonel and his com- 
1788 panions. While he was dangling in the air, and kicking 

in the last agonies, the Frenchman stopped his motions 
with a pistol ball. Such is the origin of the name " Murder 
Creek."* 

* Conversations with Lachlan Durant, and two old traders, named Abrain Mordecai 
and James Moore. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The Deep Intrigues of McGillivray. 

Occasionally, the Spanish authorities at Pensacola and 
Mobile were guilty of consummate folly in imposing restrictions 
upon the Creeks, which frequently offended them, creating a 
prejudice, which it required the compromising spirit of Panton 
and the authority and ingenuity of McGillivray to remove. We 
will here introduce a letter of the Chief, in relation to the Spanish 
outrages. It was written to Panton and dated at Little Tallase. 

" I had written to you, during the great hubbub at Pensacola, 
by Frank Leslie. I gave, then, a sketch of my idea of the times. 
The sudden flight of Curnells and Walker ought not to surprise 
you. The cowardice of the former is proverbial, and Walker 
fled, being my servant. When Linder and the others were taken 
up, a little Irishman, living at Tensaw, was in Pensacola. He 
became frightened, ran out to Walker, and informed him 
that the governor, in very severe terms, threatened to 1788 
seize him, understanding that he was recruiting men for Sept. 
my service. Upon which, says Curnells, ' I am his in- 
terpreter, therefore my chance to escape is small.' The idea of 
the mines operated so strongly upon their imaginations, that they 
precipitately fled. This custom, of taking up traders ignorant 
of the language, laws and customs of Spain, upon frivolous 
reports, if persevered in, will have effects of the most pernicious 
tendency. * * * You were lucky that the American stores 
were broken up by us, upon the Altamaha ; or else, after paying 
you some part of their skins, the whole of the Lower Creeks and 
part of the Upper Towns would have, in future, gone to them 

385 — 25 



386 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

for supplies, so greatly have the traders been alarmed by the late 
proceedings at Pensacola. If our friends, the Spaniards, knew 
how very delicate it was to awaken the suspicions and fears of 
my people, by harsh measures, they would use none in future. 
All the traders that have already gone to you, 1 was positively 
obliged to drive dozen, or you would not have seen one, for they 
would rather have gone to St. Marks or St. Johns. I hope all 
this is now subsided in Pensacola, for I am ashamed and sorry 
for it. 1 can see no reason for all this bustle. If the Grand Turk, 
or any other power, chooses to make me a present, provided they 
are not at war with Spain, they cannot be reasonably offended 
with me for accepting it. We are a free people, and mean to con- 
tinue so. * * * Your letter of the 2d runs in the 
1788 same strain of advice as your others, advising and ex- 
Sept, horting me to be guarded in treating with the Ameri- 
cans, and to reserve our trade wholly to Spain. Gov- 
ernor Miro has instructed me to the same puipose, and which 
I am fully resolved to do, that is, if I have power to offer and 
insist upon any stipulations, and so I have answered his Ex- 
cellency. But I was apprehensive that our late royal orders 
(concerning our treaty with the Americans), now strictly operat- 
ing, would embarrass our affairs, if not altogether frustrate our 
intentions, regarding trade: because, if I comprehend the order 
right, it is that I must treat of peace, and measures which I have 
found fault with, to enforce it. It must be, of course, allowed 
that every power to insist upon an article of that kind, or, indeed, 
any other, is wholly taken from me — for experience has proved 
that such matters are only to be attained by the longest fire and 
point of sword, particularly with the Americans. So, as our 
affairs now stand, I cannot see a chance of our resisting any con- 
ditions which they may choose to dictate to us, and we all can 
foresee these will be no means favorable to our present 
1788 condition. In the meantime, I have thrown some ob- 
Sept. stacles in the way of the present treaty, and have written 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 387 

to Governor Miro, stating these matters in a strong point of 
view, which he mentions he has referred to the Captain- Gen- 
eral Esplelata, of Havana. The letter is dated 28th August, and 
sent by one Nolen,a genteel young Irishman, whom the governor 
desired me to forward to Cumberland, with some propositions 
towards a commercial treaty. 

"The present interregnum in the American government, and 
the commissioners putting off the treaty until the next spring, 
will afford us all time to look around us. Whitefield's letter will 
show you the dispositions of the Georgians. The United States 
commissioners wanted the Assembly to co-operate, in a treaty of 
peace, and the House would not assemble. The Georgians pro- 
claimed a truce of arms with us, on the 31st July. A Coweta 
Indian gave me, lately, a wretched, dirty and scandalous scrawl, 
on foul paper, which he found on a tree, near Flint river. It 
proved to be a threatening talk to me and my savage subjects; 
that we (the Creeks) should have no establishment of peace until 
they (the Georgians) shall have full satisfaction of all their de- 
sires, etc. Signed, James Alexander, the 15th August. The 
chap that signs is Colonel Alexander, who murdered the Cus- 
setas. He and Clarke sway Upper Georgia. 

"The impolicy of certain late measures, in tieing us up, is 
evident. If we could have followed up our blows, those fellows, 
ere this time, would have been effectually humbled ; but we have 
all our work to do over again. 

"I observe, with much satisfaction, that the Governor and 
Intendant of New Orleans have relinquished their claim 
•of one-fourth of the profits of your trade. Such a pro- 1788 
cedure is extremely generous, and, as for my part, I now Sept. 
repeat to you what I told you more than twelve months 
ago, when we were talking upon the subject of the trade. I then 
observed that my nation was much benefited by the honorable 
and liberal manner in which you supplied them with goods ; that, 
as my attention was wholly occupied about my people, it could 



388 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



not be in my power to be of any essential service to your busi- 
ness ; therefore I could not, and ought not, to claim or hold a 
share of your industry and risks. * * * In the meantime, I 
am thankful for the generous credit of necessaries which you 
offered me, and if I conclude a peace with the Americans, which 
I expect to do, it will be in my power and ability to settle my 
account with you. These gentry will probably restore me my 
property now among them. 

" Our Indian news is in the old strain. The Congress, on 
the one hand, pretends to hold out the white wing to all the 
Southern nations ; on the other, the back settlers of North Caro- 
lina are overrunning the Cherokees, driving them into the woods, 
murdering women and children, as if they wished to extirpate 
these poor wretches. A party of my warriors lately 
1788 went among the Cherokees, collected some of them from 
Sept. their hiding places, and attacked a body of the Franklin 
troops, that were laying all waste before them, and com- 
pletely routed them. Only three Americans escaped. This is 
the first check they ever got in that country, and it has revived 
the drooping spirits of the Cherokees. 

" During our present suspense and half truce, I have en- 
couraged a considerable party of the Upper Creek warriors to go 
to the assistance of these poor devils, for a few more checks will 
be of great service to their affairs with the Americans. * * * 
I have instructed Daniel McGillivray concerning the skins he 
carries down, of the Wewocoe store. This specimen of the 
troubles of trade has sickened me with it. 

"Farewell, my dear sir, may every good attend you. 
" Yours most truly, 

" ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY." 
" To William Panton, Pensacola." 

The perusal of this letter has revealed the motives of its au- 
thor. McGillivray had offended the Spanish authorities, and 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 389 

this letter appears to have been written chiefly for their eyes* 
He affects, also, to be under great obligations to Panton, and of 
little service to him in their commercial connection, 
which he pretends to desire shall terminate. This was 1788 
all done for the purpose of alarming Panton, whom he Sept. 
informs he hopes to be able to pay up, if he should make 
a favorable treaty with the Americans. The wily Chieftain well 
knew that both Spain and this distinguished merchant would 
make any sacrifice, before they would permit him to be bought 
up by the Americans, and that his letter would go to extort from 
them further favors and emoluments. 

During the succeeding twelve months, the Federal Govern- 
ment seized upon every occasion to gain the friendship of Mc- 
Gillivray, and to put an end to the excitement in Geor- 
gia. II. Osborne and Andrew Pickens were all the time 1789 
upon the frontiers, representing the General Govern- 
ment, and writing to McGillivray to meet them, with a delega- 
tion from the entire Creek nation, at Rock Landing, upon the 
Oconee, to settle the serious matters in dispute. The Chieftain 
at length arranged to meet them ; but, just before the time of 
joining them, wrote the following letter to Panton, which he re- 
quested should privately be exhibited to the Spanish authorities : 

"Little Tallase, 10th August, 1789. 

"Dear Sir: — There being no pack-horses going to 
Pensacola for a long time past, I have had no oppor- 1789 
tunity to answer your last letters. The bearer, on my Aug. 10 
promising him two kegs of taffai, has undertaken to 
convey these to you. 

"Galphin, whom I sent to the Rock Landing with a talk, de- 
clining the treaty of June last, returned about a fortnight since, 
and I find that they are resolved upon making a treaty. In order 
to accommodate us the commissioners are complaisant enough to 
postpone it till the 15th of next month, and one of them, the late 



390 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Chief Justice Osborne, remains all the time at Kock Landing. 
Pickens returned for the Cherokee treaty ; but in this I took 
measures to disappoint him, for those Chiefs would not 
1789 meet. In this do you not see my cause of triumph, in 
Aug. 10 bringing these conquerors of the Old and masters of the 
New World, as they call themselves, to bend and sup- 
plicate for peace at the feet of a people whom shortly before they 
despised and marked out for destruction* 

" My being all at home, and the grand ceremony of kind- 
ling the new fire being just over, I deem it the fittest time to 
meet these commissioners, and have accordingly made the 
broken days, of which nine are left, to set out in. In conducting 
the business of the treaty I will, as you observe, confine it to the 
fixing of our limits and the acknowledgment of the independence 
of my nation. This I deem very necessary, as the Americans 
pretend to a territorial claim and sovereignty over us in virtue of 
the late peace made with England. This being settled will, in a 
great measure, be doing away with any cause of future quarrel 
between us. You well know how customary it is in all treaties 
with the Indians to agree to a commercial one also, it being abso- 
lutely necessary, as it more firmly attaches them to 
1789 friendships formed ; for without stipulations of that 
Aug. 10 sort in a treaty of peace, none will be lasting. However, 
in this instance I will agree to none, as you have a pros- 
pect of being able, by the favor of the Spanish government, to 
supply this trade on as moderate terms as the Georgians can do. 
Here let me observe to you, that in the affair of trade the Ameri- 
cans will push- hard for it, and it will be for us the most difficult 
part of the negotiation. But I will risk the breaking off of the 
conference before I will give in to it. On the whole, if I find that 
the commissioners insist upon stipulations that will in their 
operation clash with those already entered into with Spain, I 

* I can well imagine how McGillivray looked when he wrote this strong and eloquent 
sentence. At that moment he evidently felt his power, and his face must have been ex- 
pressive of much pride, exultation and scorn. 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 391 

shall not hesitate to cut short the negotiation, and support the 
connection which we have with Spain, it being more safe and re- 
spectable than the republicans can make one. But at the same 
time I must insist upon an equal resolution in our friends, the 
Spaniards, to afford us their decided support by every means in 
their power, and not under any pretences to repeat their conduct 
of last summer, in the very moment of vigorous exertion to refuse 
a further aid, and incense and menace us to make a peace, right 
or wrong, with the Americans, which, if we had done at the time, 
we should have been driven into hostility with Spain before this 
day. I repeat to you what I have frequently done to Governor 
Miro, that if we are obliged, for want of support, to conclude an 
unconditional peace with the Americans, it will prove essentially 
hurtful to the King's interest. 

"The ammunition and arms, given us by the King, we have 
not yet been able to fetch away. It is a good store in hand, to make 
ourselves firm in treating with the Americans. But I am 
miserably disappointed in the guns. These, my people, 1789 
who have ever been accustomed to the best English Aug. 10 
guns, find the greatest difficulty to use, being entirely 
unfitted either for the purposes of hunting or war. They may 
say they have no other ; but I pointed out where they may be 
got, and, if our friends resolve to support us, they might do it 
with that which is good. 

" A chief of the Coosawdas, named Red Shoes, has lately re- 
turned from New Orleans, very well satisfied with the reception 
and treatment there, and has brought a very good talk with him, 
and I am equally satisfied that the western horizon is again 
cleared up, and looks fair, and so it will always continue, if the 
intention of adopting, as good Spaniards — * * * The rest- 
less American is entirely given up, 1 mean in our neighborhood, 
between us and the Choctaws. I have observed to Governor 
Miro, that the reasons he gave me for settling Americans on the 
west side of the Mississippi are founded in real political princi- 



392 history OF ALABAMA. 



pies, and I truly wish it was in tbe compass of our power to 
(I live them all from the Cumberland and Ohio, to seek the new 
asylum, so, being moved out of our way, our warriors would 
never follow them there. The Coosawda Chief, Red Shoes, being 
disgusted with Captain Foloh, of Fort ' Tombecbe,' resolved to 
go bo Governor Miro, who satisfied him. Between you and I, be- 
lieve me, that Foloh is a madman. It" he had spoken to an assembly 
of the Creek Chiefs, as lie did to the Alabamas, challenged them 
to war, and exhibited to them his swivels, etc., he would have 
been directly taken ;it his word. He has been heard to declare 
that any person who would murder me should be protected in 
Spanish limits. I do not doubt his evil intention, as he has 
already given a specimen Of it, in having assassins U) murder a 
poor fellow, Lawrence, in the house of my sister, Sehoy Weather- 
lord.* Such men, in official stations, do great injury to their 
country, at one time or another. This has been proved. 

u My friend, the governor, is likewise possessed with the 
belief that all the damage done the settlers below is done by 
us; but it is wrong. The whole was a few horses and men 
taken, and my sister Durant took back the greater portion of 
these from the Coosawdas. But, at present, the Choctaw is the 
favorite, and all the outrages which they commit are carefully 
turned upon US by their partizans. It is notorious that the 
Choctaw 8 arc discontented, and Indians never fail to manifest it, 
either in taking scalps or committing depredations, which last 
they do, for it is common for them to kill horses and cattle, etc., 
on l Tombecbe,' and this summer even about Mobile. But all 
this is concealed from Governor Miro. Hen James, who is SO 

• Lawrenoe wai killed in 1 1 ■ « - house of Seboy Weatherford] then situated upon the 
spot where Colonel Charles Hooka formerly lived, and which is now owned by Maurice 
Connolly, [n those days a man and hii wife seldom Lived in the same house. The hus- 
band, Charles Weatherford, lived at iiis race track, a Few miles above, <>ii tin- Alabama. 
Lawrenoe and others were acoused of stealing horses from the Spaniards, near Mobile, 

and Captain ETolCfa sent sonic equally bad men in pursuit of them. The accused took 

refuge in Sehoy Weatherford's house it was surrounded, and Lawrenoe was killed in 

the middle of the fJ '. The others escaped, it is this oircumstance to which McGil- 

Llvray alludes. 1 derived these tacts from Laohlan Durant, who was at the bouse of ins 
aunt Weatherford when Lawrenoe was killed. Durant was then a boy. 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVBAY. 393 

much confided in, is privately an American agent, and has act- 
ually a commission, which he received from Georgia, to act with 
Davenport, and I know, could he be supported with any neces- 
saries by the Americans, he would throw oft' the mask. He was 
even weak enough to address me for leave to open a trade with 
the States, which I refused him, as well as his applica- 
tion. As a proof of my assertions respecting the Choc- 1789 
taws, Folch sent them a talk this summer, menacing Aug. 10 
them with a stoppage of their trade, until they made 
satisfaction. I am ever ready to make allowances for a momen- 
tary impression, caused by false reports ; but it would be better 
that they were more guarded against, and not made the grounds 
of making differences, which might produce a serious effect. 
The late menaces which were thrown out to me created no great 
anxiety in my mind, because I could have directly opened the 
eastern door, where large magazines of goods, etc., have been 
stored for some time past, awaiting it to be opened, but, for peace 
and quietness sake, I hope that there will be no occasion now for 
it — as everything is fallen into a calm, so let it remain ; and all 
that I have said or done was solely to discover and show the 
means to prevent it, I hope forever, between us. 

" The Chickasaw nation are content (whatever Diego Mingo 
may say to the contrary,) to put up witli the loss of that 
eliap's brother and son, for having fallen in bad com- 1789 
pany. This will be a warning, and convince them that Aug. 10 
they will not be permitted, with impunity, to act or 
encourage hostile designs against us, in concert with any people. 

"Now, let me talk a little upon my private affairs. 1 wish 
I could lay my hand on that last Letter, to send you, and a very 
curious, and, to you, not an uninteresting Carolina newspaper, 
just received; but they are both swallowed up in a multitude of 
papers. You know how it is with me, in the paper way. The 
commissioners of the United States say it would give them great 
pleasure to have a private conversation, previous to our entering 



394 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



into the business of the treaty, as it would tend to make it go on 
agreeably, and with more ease. I need not interpret this para- 
graph to you, when you already know that I have, for some time 
past, been endeavoring to recover my house and lands, with my 
family estate, which, to your knowledge, is more than £30,000 
sterling, the offer of which is now, I expect, to be pressed upon 
me. And there has, since I saw you last, arisen considerable con- 
flict in my mind, in revolving these matters over. Here am I, 
an absolute heavy tax upon you, for years, and, in fact, not 
only for my private support, but for all the extra expenses of 
this department; and although, my dear sir, I know that I 
can still depend upon your generosity, and in your friendship, 
that you overlook the heavy expense that I put you to, yet you 
well know how hurtful it is to the feeling heart, to be beholden 
to subsist on the bounty of private friendship. Thus situated, I 
ask — I wish you to give me your opinion. On the one hand, 1 
am offered the restoration of my property, of more than one hun- 
dred thousand dollars, at the least valuation : and on the other, 
not wherewithal to pay an interpreter. And I find that letters 
are still addressed to me, as agent for his Catholic Majesty, when 

I have some time ago renounced the pittance that was 

1789 allowed, as being a consideration disgraceful to my sta- 

Aug. 10 tion. If they want my services, why is not a regular 

establishment made, as was done by the English, with a 
competent salary affixed, and allowance for two interpreters, one 
among the Upper and one among the Lower Towns, for hitherto 
I have had to maintain them myself; or shall I have recourse to 
my American estate, to maintain them and myself? I wish you 
to advise me what I had best do, 

l< Although I have no solid ground to hope a complete ad- 
justment of our dispute with the Americans, I am resolved to go, 
if it is only to wipe off the suggestion made to me by our friends, 
that I am actuated by unjust motives and an unreasonable pre- 
judice against the Americans, as the ground of hostility against 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF M'GILLIVRAY. 395 

them. But if they, on the other hand, should find a body 
of people approaching their mines, would not they say, What 
business have you here? Do not you know that there are 
grounds from which we draw the chief source of our conven- 
iences and happiness, and we cannot suffer you to participate in, 
or deprive us of them ; and these encroachers should refuse to 
withdraw, would they not commence and. support an inveterate 
hostility, until they should expel them? 

" The fellow, Romain, whom Madame Villar writes of, was 
a great liar. He came here from the Choctaws, with a quantity 
of silverware and a few goods, and wanted. Nick White 
to join him in purchasing negroes, to carry and sell in 1789 
New Orleans. After roving about for some time, he Aug. 10 
had a difficulty with Milfort,* who threatened to send 
him, in irons, to New Orleans, which terrified him, apparently, 
and he went off to the Creek town, Chehaw, and, from thence, 
either to Detroit or to the States. 

"A copy of this letter you can send to the **** Miro, as I in- 
tended the former one. 

"I expect our treaty will be over by the middle of Septem- 
ber. If we return safe, expect a visit early in October, from, 
"Dear sir, yours most truly, 

« ALEXANDER McGILLlVRAY." 
"To William Panto.v, Pensacola." 

William Panton was under great obligations to McGilliv- 
ray, for the power of the Chieftain had enriched him beyond 
measure. He now had large trading establishments at all 
the prominent posts of Florida. His chief store was at Pensa- 
cola. It usually contained a stock of goods to the value of fifty 
thousand dollars, and he employed fifteen clerks to attend to 
it. Here he had extensive "skin-houses," where his valuable 
skins and rich furs were assorted, and packed up, for foreign 

* The French officer who lived so long in the nation. 



396 HISTORY OF ALAIiAMA. 



markets. Besides his stores at St. Johns, St. Marks, St. Augus- 
tine, Pensacola and Mobile, he had trading establishments at the 
Chickasaw Bluff, upon the Mississippi. It is said that fifteen 
schooners, owned by himself, were constantly employed by him, 
in his business. How alarming to him, then, was the preceding 
letter of McGillivray, and how anxious was he that no treaty 
should be made with the Americans, that would affect his ex- 
tensive commerce. McGillivray, on the other hand, was in a 
situation the most favorable to obtain honors and emoluments, 
and he could well threaten the Spaniards with "opening the 
eastern door " — the Americans with support from the King of 
Spain — and alarm Pan ton with the idea of a new commercial 
treaty. This able and ingenious Indian, Scotchman or French- 
man, (for who can tell which blood most influenced his disposi- 
tion), kept Panton, Spain and the United States in a 
1789 state of feverish excitement, while Georgia was horribly 
harassed, and made to feel his malignant resentments, 
for the banishment of his father and the confiscation of his 
patrimony. 

Washington was now President. He associated with Gen. 
Pickens, David Humphreys, Cyrus Griffin and Benjamin Lin- 
coln, as commissioners, to treat with McGillivray. These three 
gentlemen, sailing from New York, arrived at Savan- 
Sept. 10 nah, with abundant provisions to feed the Indians, 
while at the treaty ground. In a few days, they reached 
Hock Landing, upon the Oconee, where McGillivray, at the head 
of two thousand warriors, had been encamped for more than a 
week, on the western bank of the river. The commissioners 
pitched their camp on the eastern bank. The first two days were 
spent in private conferences with McGillivray, much to the satis- 
faction of the commissioners, for they were treated by him with 
great courtesy and politeness. The latter also visited most of 
the Chiefs, who all appeared friendly, and glad to make 
1789 their acquaintance. The commissioners crossed the 
Sept. 24 river, to the western side, and, after partaking of the 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 397 

black drink, were conducted, by the Chiefs, with great pomp 
and ceremony, to the place of council. One of them made 
a speech to the Indians, promising much liberality on the part of 
the United States, which was well received. Impressed with the 
favorable turn of things, as they supposed, they immediately 
read to the Chiefs a copy of the treaty, which they had drawn 
up. It stipulated that the boundary made at Augusta, Should- 
erbone and Galphinton should remain ; that the United States 
would guarantee the territory, west of that boundary, forever to 
the Creeks ; that a free trade should be established with the In- 
dians, from ports upon the Altamaha, through which the In- 
dians could import and export, upon the same terms as the citi- 
zens of the United States. That all negroes, horses, goods and 
American citizens, taken by the Indians, should be restored. 

The commissioners then retired to their encampments, and 
that night McGillivray and his Chiefs went into a grand pri- 
vate council. The next morning the Chieftain informed the 
commissioners, by letter, that the terms they proposed were 
not satisfactory, and that the Indians had resolved to break up 
and go home. He promised to meet them again at some future 
time, and to keep his warriors from acts of hostility during the 
ensuing winter. The commissioners were astounded, for they 
had imagined that everything was in a proper train. But the 
terms they proposed were unaccompanied with a solitary equiva- 
lent, and exhibited an extremely niggardly spirit, from which the 
high-minded Andrew Pickens wholly dissented. lie knew that 
a treaty could not be made without liberal compensation for the 
valuable lands which the Georgians were then cultivat- 
ing. The federal powers also knew this, and had in- 1789 
structed the commissioners to pay the Creeks a fair Sept. 
equivalent for this territory. They now sought every 
means to induce McGillivray to remain, and begged him to state 
his grounds of objection to the draft of the treaty. But he broke 
up his encampment and retreated to the Ockmulgee, from which 
place he addressed the commissioners the following letter : 



398 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

"Ockmulgee River, 27th Sept., 1789. 

"Gentlemen : — I am favored with your letter of yesterday, by 
Weatherford. I beg to assure you that my retreat from my for- 
mer camp on the Oconee was entirely owing to the want of food 
for our horses, and at the earnest entreaty of our Chiefs. Col- 
onel Humphreys and myself at different interviews entered 
deeply and minutely into the subject of the contest between our 
nation and the State of Georgia. I observed to him that I ex- 
pected ample and full justice should be given us in restoring to 
us the encroachments we complained of, in which the Oconee 
lands are included; but finding that there was no such intention, 
and that a restitution of territory and hunting grounds was not 
to be the basis of a treaty between us, I resolved to return to 
the nation, deferring the matter in full peace till next spring. 
Many of the principals have gone hunting— nothing further can 
be done. I am very unwell, and cannot return. We sincerely 
desire a peace, but cannot sacrifice much to obtain it. As for a 
statement of our disputes, the honorable Congress has long since 
been in possession of and has declared that they will decide on 
them on the principles of justice and humanity. 'Tis that we 
expect. 

" I have the honor to be, etc., 

"ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY." 
«'« To the Hon. Commissioners, Rock Landing." 

The commissioners repaired to Augusta with their fingers in 
their mouths. They drew up a series of questions for Governor 
Walton, of Georgia, who answered them. He stated that the lands 
between the mountains and the old Ogechee line, north of the 
Oconee, were equally the property of the Creeks and Cherokees ; 
that before the revolution the lands in the territory of Wilkes 
county were ceded by these tribes to Georgia; that during the war 
tne province had been attacked by these Indians, and at the close of 
it they were respectively called upon to make some satisfaction \ 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 399 

that in the spring of 1783 the Cherokees came to Augusta and. 
signed a treaty, and the Lower Creeks came in the autumn 
and performed the same act, thus ceding to Georgia their re- 
spective rights to lands specified in these treaties. These 
treaties were laid before the legislature. These lands 1789 
were surveyed, sold, settled and cultivated in peace ; Nov. 
that the Indians made these cessions voluntarily, and 
received presents, in return, of value, and that, at the treaty of 
Galphintnn, no unworthy use was made of the force which was 
sent upon the ground. 

Governor Walton appended to this statement, a list of the 
Georgians who had been killed, and of the property stolen, during 
the recent hostilities, which was alarming in magnitude.* 

The first impulse of President Washington, upon the return 
of the commissioners to New York, was to wage a war of invasion 
against the Creeks and compel them to make a peace, and re- 
linquish the Oconee lands. He was influenced to this course, 
against his judgment, by the urgent demands of the Georgia 
delegation in Congress. But when he found, from an estimate, 
that the expenses of the war would amount to fifteen 
millions of dollars, he abandoned the project, believing 1789 
that the General Government could not sustain such an 
expense, while it was still struggling with that incurred by a 
long war with England. He believed that the difficulties could 
yet be settled by negotiation, if he could once get Colonel McGil- 
livray into his presence. Colonel Marinus Willett, a native of 
Long Island, New York, and a distinguished officer in the Cana- 
dian war, and the American revolution, was selected by Wash- 
ington, as a secret agent, to visit the Creek nation, by a circuitous 
route, and to endeavor to return, with McGillivray, to the seat of 
the Federal Government. He was strictly enjoined to keep his 
mission a profound secret from every one, except General Pickens, 
to whom he bore a letter. Colonel Willett sailed from New York, 

* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 65-78. 



400 history OF ALABAMA. 



with a servant and two horses, and, after a passage of fourteen 
days, arrived in Charleston. Leaving this place, he had not pro- 
ceeded far, before the servant, manifesting much fear, was ordered 

back to New York, while a German, of doubtful charac- 

1790 ter, supplied his place. Colonel Willett reached the 

Apr. 13 residence of General Andrew Pickens, on the Seneca 

river. General Pickens was a gentleman who had been 
engaged extensively, as we have already seen, in negotiations 
with the Indians, and one in whom Washington reposed great 

confidence. Obtaining from General Pickens an Indian 
Apr. 11) guide for the Cherokee* country, and purchasing two 

additional horses, he sat out to complete his lonely and 
difficult mission, after having enjoyed for several days the hos- 
pitality and kindness of that distinguished revolutionary charac- 
ter. Pursuing his journey leisurely, the Cherokee town of Santee, 
containing eighteen houses, and surrounded by mountains, was 
first reached. The route lay through Little Chote, and the town of 
Huntowekee, which embraced both sides of a branch of the Coosa, 
and contained about fifty bouses. Along the banks of the Etowah, 
Colonel Willett entered Newcoheta, or Long Swamp, where 
lie met Mr. Thomas Gogg, to whom lie bore a letter from Gen- 
eral Pickens. This gentleman accompanied him to Pine Log, 
where he had long resided, as a trader among the Cherokees, and 
introduced him to Yellow Bird, the Chief, who not only received 
him with unaffected hospitality, but invited him to witness the 
novel and exciting game of the ball play. On the banks of the 
liver, they reached Kustenaiee, a city of refuge, to which the 
guilty were wont to fly and be safe from punishment. No blood 
could be shed within the bounds of its sacred corporation. Here 
resided two Indian Chiefs, Badger and Jobberson, who gave him 
a warm reception, induced by the letters of General Pickens. 
The next morning .lobberson and the interpreter, Mr. 
1790 Carey, having agreed to accompany him to the Creek 
April 28 nation, the party all proceeded to llihote, the last of 



THE DEEP INTKIGUES OF m'gILLI VKA Y. 401 

the Cherokee towns in this direction, crossed the Etowah 
in a canoe, swam the horses, and ascended the Pumpkin 
Posh mountain, which is nearly a day's travel from the river. 
The wealthy Mr. Scott, a European, who had long been a trader 
in the nation, resided in the first Creek settlement, which they 
now entered. Here, learning that JVlcGillivray was then 
on a visit to Ocfuske, on the Tallapoosa river, Colonel April 30 
Willett determined to join him at that place. Since 
he had left the borders of South Carolina, more than ten days 
had been consumed in his solitary march over a wilderness 
country, which was the constant scene of murder and robbery. 
The expenses of the expedition, chiefly for provender, were paid 
for in ribbons and paints. At the house of Mr. Graison, in the 
Hillabees, the secret agent had the good fortune to meet Colonel 
McGillivray. He describes him as a " man of an open, generous 
mind, with a good judgment and very tenacious memory." De- 
livering the important letter of General Washington, two days 
were passed in conversation with this distinguished Indian per- 
sonage, and here Colonel Willett, for the first time, wit- 
nessed the religious ceremony of the black drink. The 1790 
party, accompanied by Colonel McGillivray and his ser- May 3 
vant, took leave of the hospitable mansion of Graison, 
and, after ten miles travel, approached the Fish Pond Town, 
where, in the evening, they were honored with a dance by the 
inhabitants. They soon arrived at the Hickory Ground, 
a large town, and one of the residences of Colonel Mc- May 4 
Gillivray. Here, it was understood that the Indians of 
Coosawda were engaged in a grand busking for mulberries. 

It was not long before Colonel McGillivray sent out ten 
broken days, for the Chiefs of the Lower Towns to meet at 
Ositchy to consult on public business; and, during this time, 
Colonel Willett amused himself in riding about the vicinity. He 
visited the old French fort, " Toulouse-," the remains of which 
were scarcely visible. He tarried several days at Little Tallase, 

26 



402 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



the birthplace of McGillivray, which was also called the "Apple 
Grove," situated on the east bank of the Coosa, five miles 
above the Hickory Ground, a most delightful and well im- 
proved place. Here he fared sumptuously on fish, venison, 
strawberries and mulberries. On the 12th of May the agent 
and McGillivray, with their servants, set out eastwardly, and 
arrived at the great town of Tookabatcha at four o'clock 
in the evening, and passed the night with Mr. Curnells, the 
interpreter. Crossing the Tallapoosa, in company with their 
host, they went by the house of the Tallase King, and saw a 
Scotchman, named James McQueen, who had been a trader for 
sixty years, in the nation. The next day, they passed the resi- 
dence of the Hollowing King, and reached Coweta, upon the 
Chattahoochie river, where Mr. Deresau, the interpreter, shel- 
tered them for the night. Many of this numerous population 
were engaged in drinking taffai, and the night was spent in 
much noise and carousal. Passing down to Ositchy the next 
morning, these distinguished gentlemen remained there, await- 
ing the arrival of the Chiefs, when, at 11 o'clock a. m., Colonel 
Willett, the secret agent, delivered to the assembled wisdom of 
the Creek confederacy an address, the substance of which was, 
that he had been sent an immense distance by our Great Chief, 

George Washington, to invite them to his council-house, 

1790 at New York, where he, with his own hand, wished to 

May 17 sign, with Colonel McGillivray, a treaty of peace and 

alliance. He stated to them that the United States 
wanted none of their lands, and that Washington would take 
effectual measures to secure their territory to them, according to 
the treaty which he and Colonel McGillivray would conclude ; 
that the President was ready to promote their trade, by afford- 
ing them means to procure goods in a cheap and easy manner, 
and intended to perform other acts which would promote the 
welfare and happiness of the Creek nation. Colonel Willett con- 
cluded his speech by earnestly inviting them to embrace these 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 403 

terms, and to select such Chiefs as they chose to accompany 
Colonel McGillivray to the great council-house of New York, 
where Washington would make a treaty with their Great Chief 
u as strong as the hills and lasting as the rivers." 

Retiring for an hour from the vast assembly, whom he left 
to deliberate upon his overtures, Colonel Willett was again called 
in, when he received the following speech from the Hollowing 
King, a fine-looking man and great orator : 

" We are glad to see you. You have come a great way, and, 
as soon as we fixed our eyes upon you, we were made glad. We 
are poor, and have not the knowledge of the white people. We 
were invited to the treaty at the Rock Landing. We went there. 
Nothing was done. We were disappointed, and came back with 
sorrow. The road to your great council-house is long, and the 
weather is hot; but our beloved Chief shall go with you, 
and such others as we may appoint. We will agree to 1790 
all things which our beloved Chief shall do. We will May 17 
count the time he is away, and, when he comes back, we 
shall be glad to see him with a treaty that shall be ' as strong as 
the hills and lasting as the rivers.' May you be preserved from 
every evil." 

Having negotiated this business to the mutual satisfaction 
of himself and the warriors, Colonel Willett returned to Coweta 
that evening, and the next morning assumed the retrograde 
march for Tookabatcha, where he arrived on the 21st, partook of 
the ceremony of the black drink, and received a speech from the 
venerable White Lieutenant, as the voice of the Upper CreeKs, 
breathing sentiments similar to those delivered at Ositchy. Late 
in the evening of the next day McGillivray and the agent arrived 
at the Hickory Ground. From this place Colonel Willett des- 
patched a letter to the Secretary of War, by the hands of Mr* 
Carey, the Cherokee interpreter. 

Finally, Colonel McGillivray, with his nephew and two ser- 
vants, accompanied by the secret agent, set out from Little Tal- 



404 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

lase for New York. They were all mounted on horse- 
1790 back, and accompanied by several pack-horses. Taking 
June 1 a northeastern direction through the wilderness, they 
arrived at the Stone Mountain, in the present State of 
Georgia, and were there joined by the Coweta and Cusseta 
Chiefs. Reaching the house of General Pickens, the party 
received the warmest welcome, and, after being joined by the 
Tallase King, Chinnobe, the " great Natchez warrior," and other 
Chiefs, the expedition again set out, with three wagons, in which 
rode twenty-six warriors, while four were on horseback. Colonel 
McGillivray and suit were mounted on horses, and the agent rode 
in a sulky. At Guildford C. H., North Carolina, a truly affecting 
scene occurred. Some years before this the Creeks had killed a 
man named Brown, and captured his wife and children, 
June whom they brought to the nation. Colonel McGillivray, 
moved at their unfortunate situation, redeemed them 
from slavery by paying the price of their ransom, as he had done 
many others, and maintained them at his house over a year. Mrs. 
Brown, hearing of the arrival of Colonel McGillivray, rushed 
through the large assembly at the court house, and, with a flood 
of tears, almost overpowered him with expressions of admiration 
of his character, and gratitude for his preservation of her life, and 
that of her children, while alone in a land of savages. The party 
passed through Richmond and Fredericksburg, where they were 
treated with much kindness, while Colonel McGillivray 
1790 was received by the most prominent citizens with distin- 
July 17 guished consideration. Arriving at Philadelphia, Col- 
onel Willett and his party were there entertained, for 
three days, in a manner which could not fail to please. Entering 
a sloop at Elizabethtown Point, they landed in New York, where 
the Tammany Society, in the full dress of their order, received 
them in splendor, marched them up Wall street by the Federal 
Hall, where Congress was then in session, and next to the house 
of the President, to whom they were introduced with much pomp 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF M'GILLIVRAY. 405 



and ceremony. Then, visiting the Minister of War and Governor 
Clinton, a sumptuous and elegant entertainment at the City 
Tavern finished the day.* 

When it became known that McGillivray had departed for 
New York, great excitement arose in Florida and Louisiana. A 
correspondence began with the Captain- General at Havana, and 
ending by his despatching from East Florida an agent with a 
large sum of money to New York, ostensibly to buy flour, but 
really to embarrass the negotiations with the Creeks. Washing- 
ton, apprised of the presence of this officer, had his movements 
so closely observed, that the object of his mission was defeated. 

Washington, communicating with the Senate, advised that 
the negotiations with McGillivray should be conducted infor- 
mally, as all the overtures hitherto offered by the commissioners 
had been rejected. Embarrassments existed, because the com- 
merce of the Creeks was in the hands of a British com- 
pany, who made their importations from England into 1790 
Spanish ports. It was necessary that it should be di- 
verted into American channels; but McGillivray's treaty, at 
Pensacola, in 1784, could not be disregarded, without a great 
breach of faith and morals on his part. 

But finding, from the informal intercourse with them, that 
McGillivray and the Chiefs were ready to treat, upon advan- 
tageous terms, Henry Knox was appointed to negotiate 
with them, and a treaty was concluded by him, on the Aug. 7 
part of the United States, and, on the other side, by 
McGillivray and the delegation, representing the whole Creek 
nation. It stipulated that a permanent peace should be estab- 
lished between the Creeks and the citizens of the United States ; 
that the Creeks and Seminoles should be under the protection, 
solely, of the American government, and that they should not 
make treaties with any State, or the individuals of any State ; 
that they should surrender, at Rock Landing, white prisoners 

* A Narrative of the Military Actions of Colonel Marinus Willett, pp. 95-113. 



406 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



and negroes, taken during the recent hostilities, in default of 
which the Governor of Georgia was authorized to send persons 
in the nation to claim and demand them ; that the boundary line 
between the Creeks and Georgia was to be that claimed by the 
latter in the treaties which she had made at Augusta and Should- 
erbone. 

Thus did Alexander McGillivray at last surrender the Oconee 
lands, about which so much blood had been shed, and so much 
negotiation wasted. And for what? For fifteen hundred dol- 
lars, to be paid annually to the Creek nation, with also some 
goods, to be distributed among the Indians, which were then in 
the warehouses of Augusta. The Federal Government also guar- 
anteed to them their territory free from future encroachments.* 

Did the proud, the powerful, the shrewd Alexander McGil- 
livray surrender these valuable lands for the pitiful amount 
already mentioned? Ah! — but the reader must not be too fast. 
There was a secret treaty between him and Washington, which 
now for the first time, comes to light in history. It provided that, 
after two years from date, the commerce of the Creek 
1790 nation should be carried on through the ports of the 
United States, and, in the meantime, through the pres- 
ent channels; that the Chiefs of the Ocfuskees, Tookabatchas 
Tallases, Cowetas, Cussetas. and the Seminole nation, should be 
paid annually, by the United States, one hundred dollars each, 
and be furnished with handsome medals ; that Alexander Mc- 
Gillivray should be constituted agent of the United States, with 

THE RANK OF BRIGADIER GENERAL, AND THE PAY OF TWELVE HUN- 

dred dollars per annum ; that the United States should feed, 
clothe and educate Creek youth at the North, not exceeding four 
at one time. 

Thus Colonel McGillivray secured to himself new honors, 
and a good salary, by a secret treaty, which left him in a po- 
sition to return home and intrigue with Spain. Even in the 



* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 81-82. 






A 



THE DEEP INTRIGUES OF m'gILLIVRAY. 407 

presence of Washington, and his able cabinet, the Chieftain 
pushed hard for favorable terms, and received them.* 

Receiving half of his salary in advance, McGillivray left 
New York, with the Chiefs, for the bright waters of the Ala- 
bama. A veil of silence covers the acts of the august 
Chieftain for several months, and we hear nothing more 17#0 
of him, until he was visited, in the nation, by Lieutenant Aug. 18 
Heth, who bore with him two thousand nine hundred 
dollars in gold, the balance due to the Chiefs, agreeably to the 
treaty. He brought this money, on pack-horses, from New York 
around by Virginia and East Tennessee. Heth was instructed 
to remain with McGillivray a long time, and endeavor to get him 
to carry out the provisions of the treaty, in regard to the restor- 
ation of prisoners and negroes, and the running of the line be- 
tween the Creeks and Georgians. 

* I am indebted to Colonel John A. Campbell, an eminent lawyer of Mobile, and to 
Mr. Alfred Hennen, a distinguished member of the New Orleans liar, for placing in my 
hands papers tiled in the District Court of Louisiana, containing the letters of Alex. 
McGillivray to Panton, dated at Little Tallase, September 20, 1788, and August 10, 1789, 
which liave been copied in this History, at length. I also found among this tile the " se- 
cret treaty," written upon sheep-skin, and signed by Washington, Knox, McGillivray 
and the Chiefs. A celebrated law-suit brought m this court by Johnson and other 
claimants, under the heirs of McGillivray vs. the heirs of Panton, was the means of the 
preservation of these important historical papers. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The First Yazoo Sale — Bowles, the Freebooter. 

Georgia claimed, under a charter of Charles II., all the ter- 
ritory, from the Savannah to the Mississippi river, lying between 
31° and 35°. She had, as early as February, 1785, established by 
legislative enactment, the county of Bourbon, embrac- 
1789 ing the settlements along the Mississippi, above and be- 
Dec. low Natchez ; but the occupation of this country by the 
Spanish government prevented its occupation and set- 
tlement. 

Governor Telfair approved an act of the General Assembly, 
at Savannah, which authorized a conditional sale of the larger 
portion of this wild domain, for the purpose of peopling it, and 
enriching the treasury of the State. For a little upwards of 
sixty thousand dollars, five millions of acres, now embracing the 
territory of the middle counties of Mississippi, were sold to a 
" South Carolina Yazoo Company." 

Seven millions of acres now embracing the territory of the 
northern counties of Mississippi, were sold to the " Virginia 
Yazoo Company," for a little over ninety-three thousand dol- 
lars. 

Three million, five hundred thousand acres, now embracing 
the territory of the northern counties of Alabama, were sold for 
something over forty-six thousand dollars to the "Tennessee 
Company." 

Spain claimed much of this territory, by conquests made 

towards the close of the revolutionary war, as we have 

1789 already seen, and that power and the United States were 

Dec. now negotiating to settle the boundaries ; but Georgia 

408 



THE FIRST YAZOO SALE BOWLES, THE FREEBOOTER. 409 

took the matter into her own hands, as she has ever 
done with whatever concerned her, and as she always will do, as 
long as her soil is inhabited by its present enterprising, brave 
and restless population. 

Washington, becoming alarmed at the collision which he 
supposed would take place between the Federal Government, 
Georgia, Spain and the Indians, in consequence of this 
extraordinary sale of territory, issued a proclamation 1790 
against the whole enterprise. But the " Tennessee Com- Aug.*25 
pany " heeded him not. Its head and front, Zachariah 
Coxe, with a number of his friends, floated down on flat-boats 
from East Tennessee to the Muscle Shoals. Here, upon 
an island, they built a block-house, and other works of 1791 
defence, intending to sell out much of the best lands, May 
north and south of tbe river. But the Cherokees, under 
the Chief, Class, probably set forward by Governor Blount, of 
Tennessee, who was the active agent of Washington, advanced 
upon this establishment, drove Coxe and his adherents out of the 
block-house, and consumed it by fire. Other efforts were after- 
wards made to colonize this region ; but were defeated by the 
opposition of the Chickasaws, the Cherokees and the Federal 
Government.* 

The "South Carolina Yazoo Company" also attempted to 
colonize their lands, and for that purpose constituted Dr. James 
O'Fallan their agent-general, who went to Kentucky, raised 
troops, and issued commissions, in an illegal manner, with the 
design of taking the Natchez country from the Spaniards, and 
peopling the territory. At the same time, Edmund 
Phelan, the sub-agent of the company, was piloted 1790 
through the Creek and Choctaw country to Natchez by 
an old Indian countryman, named Thomas Basket, who was to 
have been their interpreter. But Washington caused O'Fallan 
to be arrested, and ordered General St. Clair to put down, by 

* Haywood's History of Tennessee, pp. 249-256. Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p. 115. 



1 I HISTORY OF AI.AIiAMA. 



military foroe, all attempts to colonize the Natchez country, 
against which the Spanish Minister had vehemently remonstrated. 
Great excitement existed; Washington was much embarrassed 
and much abused. 

The " Virginia Yazoo Company" made no attempts to st^tth^ 
the lands which they had purchased. 

These companies all failed to meet the payments due Georgia 
for these lands, and that State, i>y subsequent enaotnients, re- 
scinded the whole bargain, having in the meantime withheld 
grants from the purchasers, which was a condition <>f sale, until 
the debt was fully discharged. Agreatdealof recrimination and 
abuse passed between the authorities of Georgia and these com- 
panies, and the people who had innocently suffered in fitting out 
private enterprises to settle the new region. So ended the first 
if r zoo sale by the legislature of Georgia. An account of another, 
and a more Important and extensive one, will hereafter be Intro- 
duced.* 

A Quaker of Pennsylvania, named Andrew Ellicott, appointed 

by the Federal Government to run the line between the Creeks 

and Georgians, arrived at Rook Landing, upon the Ooo- 

I7DI nee, in company with Jam 68 SeagrOV?, an Irishman, 

May who was appointed Superintendent of the Creek nation. 

At this place the government erected a strong fort, and 

threw into it a Large gar rison. l\Ic( iilli viay was constantly 
Urged from this point, to cause the Indians to consent to the 
running of the boundary line, and to assist in its execution ; but 

the Chieftain delayed, and threw all the blame upon the hostile 

efforts Of an extraordinary man, who must now be introduced to 
the reader. 

William AugUStUS Howies, a native of Maryland, at the a^e 

of fourteen, entered the British army, as a, loot soldier, and, after 
a year's service against his countrymen, sailed with a. Biitish 

regiment to Jamaica, in 1777, as mi ensign, and from thence 

« Indian Allaiis, vol. I, pp. Ilf,-!17. Public lands, vol. 1, pp. IliO !'.'! 188. 



THE FIRST YAZOO SALK — BOWLES, THE FREEBOOTER. 411 



went to Pensacola. Here he was deprived of his rank, for in- 
subordination. Disgusted with military discipline, and fond of a 
roving life, he contemptuously flung his uniform into the sea, 
and left Pensacola in company with some Creeks. He lived 
upon the Tallapoosa for several years, and acquired the Musco- 
gee language to great perfection. He visited the Lower Towns, 
and there married the daughter of a Chief. Ills elegant and 
commanding form, fine address, beautiful countenance of varied 
expressions, his exalted genius, daring and intrepidity, all con- 
nected with a mind wholly debased and unprincipled, eminently 
fitted him to sway the bad Indians and worst; traders among 
whom he lived. 

Bowles led a party of Creeks to Pensacola, in 1781, and as- 
sisted General Campbell to defend that place from the attacks of 
Don Galvez. He went to New York, joined a company of come- 
dians, and sailed to New Providence, of the Bahamas. Here he 
alternately acted upon the stage, and painted portraits, for which 
he had taste and genius. Lord Dunmore was then the Governor 
of the Bahamas. Panton, Leslie & Co., despatched to John Forbes, 
one of their associates, living at New Providence, a schooner, in 
which were six thousand piastres. Lord Dunmore seized upon 
this money, as contraband property. Panton instituted a com- 
plaint to the British Court, when the money was ordered to be 
returned. Dunmore ever afterwards hated Panton and his 
co-partners. He selected Bowles as an agent, to establish a com- 
mercial house upon the Chattahoochie, which would check the 
prosperous commerce of these merchants. Bowles shortly 
appeared among the Lower Creeks, and threw the weight of 
his influence against Panton, and against McGillivray and 
the Georgians, all of whom he despised. But Milfort was sent 
to the Chattahoochie, with an order for Bowles to leave the 
nation in twenty-four hours, on penalty of losing his ears. 
He fled to New Providence, and from thence was sent to Eng- 
land, by Dunmore, in company with a delegation of Creeks, 



412 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Seminoles and Cherokees, to enlist the English government in the 
cause of these nations by repelling American aggression. The 
British Court treated him with kindness, and heaped upon him 
valuable presents. He soon returned to New Providence, and 
began a piratical war upon the coasting vessels of Panton, having 
taught his warriors to navigate the Gulf. He captured some of 
these vessels, laden with arms and ammunition, ran them up in 
bayous, where he and an abandoned set of white men from the 
prisons of London, together with hosts of savages, engaged in 
protracted debaucheries, and day and night made the woods echo 
with horrid oaths and panther screams. Panton's boxes of mer- 
chandise were torn open, distributed among the Indians, and 
carried to all parts of the nation. Such piratical successes soon 
gave him popularity in the Creek country* He now boldly ad- 
vanced to the heart of it, denouncing General McGillivray as a 
traitor to his people, and sought to overthrow him and 
1791 place himself in power. He had many bad men of in- 
fluence with the Indians, who endeavored to stir up re- 
bellion. The most conspicuous of these were Willbanks, a native 
of New York and a refugee tory, and a half-breed Cherokee 
named Moses Price. His emissaries contended that neither the 
Americans nor Spaniards had any right to control the Indians, 
for that England had not ceded any of their country to either 
power, and that General McGillivray had endeavored to sell his 
people, first to Spain and next to the Federal Government. In- 
deed, at this period McGillivray, for the first time in his life, 
began to lose the confidence of many of the Chiefs and common 
Indians, who were indignant at the provisions of the New York 
treaty, which they openly disavowed. The Spanish authorities 
were angry with him, and Panton was deceived by him. Bowles 
even bearded him in his den. All this time the Federal Govern- 
ment was annoying him with urgent solicitations to comply with 

* Du Lac's Voyage dans les deaux Louisianes, in 1801, 1802, 1803, pp. 458-460. Milfort's 
Sejourn dans le nation Creek, pp. 116-124. 



THE FIRST YAZOO SALE BOWLES, THE FREEBOOTER. 413 

the treaty. Truly one might suppose that General McGillivray 
was an unhappy man, and was soon to fall from his high 
position. At length he departed for New Orleans, when 1791 
Bowles and his emissaries exultingly declared that he Nov. 
had fled, never again to show his face upon the Coosa. 
He went frequently to New Orleans, Mobile and Pensacola dur- 
ing the winter, and was treated with great attention by the 
Spanish authorities, notwithstanding the treaty of New York. 
The secret one, of course they knew nothing of, nor did Pan ton. 
He professed to be sick of his trip to New York, and requested 
not to be given the title of General. Here he arranged for the 
capture of Bowles, and soon the freebooter was brought to New 
Orleans in chains, and from thence sent to Madrid, in Spain, 
where we must leave him for the present. 

It was not long before measures were adopted to expel the 
American inhabitants, principally traders, from the Creek na- 
tion. Governor Carondelet decreed that they were all 
to take the Spanish oath of allegiance, and "fight for 1792 
the King from the head waters of the Alabama to the June 
sea." James Leonard, who had recently arrived at Ten- 
saw, refusing to take the oath, was stripped of his property, and, 
while arrangements were making to send him to Moro Castle, in 
Havana, he made his escape to Rock Landing, upon the distant 
Oconee. 

McGillivray returned to the banks of the Coosa, still in power 
and authority. It was suspected that he had intrigued with the 
Spanish authorities. Not long afterwards, one Captain Don Pedro 
Oliver, who was a Frenchman, but wore the Spanish military 
uniform, made his appearance in the nation, and was stationed 
at the Hickory Ground, upon the Coosa. His pay was one hun- 
dred dollars a month, and he was accompanied by an interpreter 
name H Antonio. These things looked very suspicious to the fed- 
eral agents upon the Oconee. It was believed by many that Gen- 
eral McGillivray did not openly act against the American gov- 
ernment, but that he was doing it secretly, through Captain Oli- 



414 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

ver and others. It was certain that, upon the representations of 
Carondelet to the Court of Spain, respecting the treaty 
1792 of New York, and the remonstrances of Panton to that 
power, in regard to its neglect of the Chieftain, his 
Catholic Majesty made McGillivray Superintendent General of 
the Creek nation, with an annual salary of two thousand dollars! 
In July, to this amount was added a salary of fifteen hundred 
dollars by the same power.* He was, at this time, the agent of 
Spain, with a salary of thirty-five hundred dollars ; the agent of 
the United States, with a salary of twelve hundred dollars ; the 
co-partner of Panton, and the Emperor of the Creek and Semi- 
nole nations. He was almost unrivalled in intrigue, and we 
doubt if Alabama has ever produced, or ever will produce, a man 
of greater ability.! We wish we could defend his conduct with 
a clear conscience, but we cannot. It was eminent for treachery, 
intrigue and selfish aggrandizement. However he may have been 
wronged by the Americans, he ought to have acted in good faith 
with them, after he had made the treaty with Washington. But 
McGillivray was like many ambitious and unscrupulous Ameri- 
cans of our day, who view politics as a trade. But, notwithstand- 
ing he displayed eminent selfishness in his relation towards these 
rival powers, he was generous to the distressed, whom he always 
sheltered and fed, and protected from the brutalities of his red 
brethren. He had many noble traits, and not the least of which 
was his unbounded hospitality to friends and foes. 

During the summer and fall of 1792, General McGillivray se- 
cretly caused large meetings to be held over the Creek and Cher- 
okee nations, at which he appeared to be only a visitor, while Pan- 
ton and Captain Oliver, in speeches, forbid the running of the 
line between them and the Georgians, in the name of the King 
of Spain, and decreed that no American trader should 
enter the nation. Governor Carondelet was also active in 

* Papers filed in the District Court of Louisiana. 

t I have only introduced a few of McGillivray's letters, to show the order of his mind. 
The American State Papers contain many of his ablest letters, addressed to Congress 
and to the Secretary of War. 



THE FIRST YAZOO SALE BOWLES, THE FREEBOOTER. 415 

endeavoring to defeat the provisions of the New York treaty. 
He sent to the Creek nation a large body of bloody Shawnees, 
armed and equipped, who took up their abode at Souvanoga, 
upon the Tallapoosa. McGillivray moved his negroes to Little 
river, gave up his house to Captain Oliver, whom he had so well 
established in the affections of his people, and was gone a long 
time to New Orleans and Pensacola. The Spaniards not only 
had in view the prevention of the advancement of the Americans 
on the east, but determined to oppose the settlements upon the 
Mississippi, to effect all of which they attempted to unite the 
four nations of Indians on their side. They strengthened all 
their forts, and authorized Captain John Linder, of Tensaw, and 
other active partisans, to raise volunteers. Carondelet gave 
Richard Finnelson and Joseph Durque passports to go through 
the Spanish posts to the Cherokee nation as emissaries to incite 
those Indians to make war upon the Cumberland people. 
John Watts, a half-breed of Willstown, was also an 1792 
active agent. There was, suddenly, great excitement 
produced over the whole Indian country. One Chief declared at 
Willstown* that he had taken the lives of three hundred Ameri- 
cans, but that now he intended to "drink his fill of blood." The 
Cumberland people fell victims on all sides, while the settlers 
upon the frontiers of Georgia shared the same fate. During all 
this time McGillivray and the Federal authorities at Rock Land- 
ing were engaged in fruitless correspondence — the former pro- 
fessing his willingness to carry out the provisions of the New 
York treaty, but never doing it. Everything conspired to defeat 
the hopes of Washington. Even Captain Oliver had become 
intimate with Willbanks and the rest of the adherents of Bowles, 
and used them against the American interests. McGillivray 
also carried on a correspondence with the Secretary of War, in 
which he displayed his usual powers of diplomacy. f 

* Willstown, named for a half-breed Chief called Red Head Will, whose father was a 
British officer, was an important Cherokee village. The grave of Red Head Will is 
within two hundred yards of the residence of Jesse G. Beeson, who owns the entire site 
of Willstown, situated in Little Will's Valley, DeKalb county, Alabama. 

t Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 305-315-288-290-432. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
Singular [^habitants of Alabama. 
The territory now called Alabama was but sparsely settled 

in 17!)^, exeept by the natives, and they occupied only some of 

the prinoipal water-courses. Fort Charlotte, at Mobile, 
1 7i>ti was garrisoned with Spanish troops. The old French 

"Tombeobe," which, in Spanish times, was called Fort 
Confederation, oontained also b Spanish garrison. Tin* English 
trading post, near the present Stockton, then called Tensaw, was 
repaired and oooupied. A Spanish garrison occupied Fort St. 

Stephens, which was built npon a, bluff on the Tombigby, called 

by the Chootaws, Hobuckintopa. A considerable Spanish gar- 
rison held the fortress at Pensaoola. West Florida and Louisiana 
were governed by the Captain-General at Havana. The next 
person In authority was the Governor of Louisiana, to whom all 
the commandants of the posts in Alabama and Mississippi were 
subordinate. The whole territory of Alabama was then 
L792 an Immense wilderness, with American trading-posts on 

the east, upon the Oconee, and those of Spain upon the 
south and west, while it was uninhabited by whites as far as the 

distant Cumberland settlements on the north. 

The most populous settlement, with the exoeption of Mobile, 

was upon the Tensaw river and lake of that name. It was com- 
posed of both whigS and royalists. The latter had been driven 

from Georgia and the Carolinas. Added to these, were men, 

eui generie, appropriately called old Indian count ry men, who had 

spent muoh of their lives in Indian commerce. The most con- 
spicuous and wealthy inhabitant of this neighborhood 
I7!>^ was Captain John Under, a native of the Canton of 

416 



8INGULAB [NH ABIT A NTS OF ALABAMA. 417 

Heme, in Switzerland. lie resided many years in Charles 
ton, as a British engineer and surveyor. There General McGil- 
livray became acquainted with him, and, during the revolution, 
assisted in bringing here his family and large negro property. 

In February, L79J, a party of emigrants, consisting of [Colo- 
nel Thomas Kimbil, John Barn ett, Robert Sheffield, Bar- 
ton Hannon, and Mounger, with a wife and 1791 

children, three of whom were grown, set out from Feb. 
Georgia for the Tombigby. Entering the Creek nation, 
one of the children was injured by a fall, which compelled the 
elder Mounger and his younger family to stop upon the trail. 
They were afterwards robbed by the Indians of everything they 
possessed, and had to make their way back to Georgia on 
foot. The three young Moungers, and the other emigrants, con- 
tinued to the Ten saw, passing the creeks and rivers upon rafts. 
They found upon their arrival at Tensaw, the Halls. Byrnes, 
Minis, Kilereas, Steadhams, Kaslies, LindeiS and others. Cross- 
ing the Alabama and Tombigby upon rafts, they found 
residing below Mcintosh Bluff, the Bates, Lawrences 171)1 
and Powells. Above there, on the Tombigby, they dis- Mar. 
covered the Danleys, Wheets, Johnsons, McGiews, 
Sockets, Freelands, Talleys and Bakers. Among these few 
people, Colonel Kimbil and his little party established them- 
selves, and began the cultivation of the soil with their horses, 
upon the backs of which they had brought a few axes and ploughs. 

The garrison at St. Stephens was composed of one company, 
commanded by Captain Fernando Lisoro. The block house, the 
residence of the commandant, and the church, were good build- 
ings, of frame- work, clay and plaster. The other houses were 
small, and covered with cypress bark. All the inhabitants of 
this place, and of the country, were required to labor so many 
days upon the public works, to cake the oath of allegiance, and 
to assist in repelling the depredations of the Creeks, who stole 
horses and other property. Some French farmers also lived 

— 27 



418 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



upon this river, who dwelt in houses made almost entirely of 

clay, while those of the Americans were constructed of 
1792 small poles, in the rudest manner. They all cultivated 

indigo, which was worth two dollars and fifty cents per 
pound. The burning of tar engaged much of the time of the 
Spaniards, still lower down. 

Upon Little river, dividing the modern counties of Baldwin 
and Monroe, lived many intelligent and wealthy people, whose 
blood was a mixture of white and Indian. This colony was 
formed at an early period, for the benefit of their large stocks of 
cattle, for the wild grass and cane were here never killed by the 
frost. A most remarkable woman, a sister of General McGilliv- 
ray, lived occasionally among these people. Sophia McGillivray, 
a maiden beautiful in all respects, was living at her native place, 
upon the Coosa, when Benjamin Durant, a man of Huguenot 
blood, came from South Carolina, to her mother's house. A 
youth of astonishing strength and activity, he had mastered all 
who opposed him at home. Being informed by the traders that 
a man in the Creek nation was his superior, he immediately set 
out for that region, to which he had long before been inclined to 
go. He was handsome, and his complexion was almost as brown 
as that of the pretty, dark-eyed Sophia. She went with him to 

the Hickory Ground, only a few miles distant, where 
1792 many Indians had collected, to see the antagonists meet. 

They encountered each other, and a tremendous fight 
ensued. Durant felled his antagonist to the ground, where he 
lay, for a time, insensible. The conqueror was proclaimed the 
champion of the nation. He soon married Sophia, and went to 
reside upon one of the estates of her father, the wealthy Lachlan 
McGillivray, situated upon the Savannah river. During the 
siege of Savannah, she was there with her father, her husband 
and her little boy, Lachlan Durant, who is now favorably known 
to many of our modern citizens, and is yet a resident of Baldwin 
county. When the city was surrendered to the Americans, she 



SINGULAR INHABITANTS OF ALABAMA. 419 

parted from her father, amid a flood of tears, and set out for her 
native Coosa, while he, as we have seen, sailed with his British 
friends back to Scotland. 

Sophia Durant had an air of authority about her, equal, if 
not superior, to that of her brother, Alexander. She was 
much better acquainted with the Indian tongue, for he had 
long lived out of the nation. When, therefore, he held councils 
in the vicinity of her residence, she was accustomed to deliver 
his sentiments in a set speech, to which the Chiefs listened with 
delight. Her husband became a wealthy man, and "Durant's 
Bend,"* and other places upon the Alabama, still preserve his 
memory. In the summer of 1790, while McGillivray was at New 
York, the Creeks threatened to descend upon the Tensaw settlers 
and put the whole of them to death. Mrs. Durant mounted a 
horse, with a negro woman upon another, and set out from Little 
river, camped out at night, and, on the fourth day, arrived at the 
Hickory Ground, where she assembled the Chiefs, threatened 
them with the vengeance of her brother upon his return, which 
caused the arrest of the ringleaders, and put a complete stop to 
their murderous intentions. Two weeks afterwards, 
this energetic and gifted woman was delivered of twins, 1792 
at the Hickory Ground. One of them married James 
Bailey, who was killed at the fall of Fort Mims, in 1813, and the 
other lived to be an old woman. At a later period Mrs. Durant 
will again appear in this history. 

The territory of the present county of Montgomery contained 
a few white inhabitants in 1792. Among others, there w T as a 
white woman, who had lived with her husband at Savannah. He 
was there a foot soldier in one of the British regiments, but de- 
serted from the army, when she fled with him to the Chatta- 
hoochie. He died at Cusseta, and his bold and adventurous wife 

* The most remarkable bend upon the Alabama, embracing; a large tract of land lying 
between Montgomery and Selma, formerly the property of the late Honorable William 
Smith, and now owned by John Steele, of Autauga. It was cultivated by Benjamin 
Durant as early as 1786. 



420 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



continued to wander through the Creek nation, and finally settled 
in the territory of the present county of Montgomery, upon the 
eastern side of a creek, which still bears her name, for she was 
called by no other than that of " Milly." Here, among the Cu- 
walla Indians, she established herself, without husband, father, 
children, or even a single friend. Espousing one of the sons of 
the forest, she soon began to have comforts around her. Her 
stock of cattle became large, to which was added in a few years, 
a large drove of ponies. For many years Milly lived alone upon 
this creek. The trading path leading from Pensacola to Tooka- 
batcha passed by her house. But, at the period of 1792, her 
solitary hours were agreeably relieved by the prattle 

1792 of a little white girl. In 1790, a party of Creeks ad- 
vanced to the G-eorgia frontiers, and, surrounding the 
house of one Scarlett, killed him and his wife and children. 
A little girl, named Tempey Ellis, about eight years old, the 
child of a neighbor, was in the house at the time, and, when 
the attack was made, she concealed herself under the bed. Af- 
ter all the family lay upou the floor, in the sleep of death, a 
warrior discovered Tempey Ellis, and, dragging her out by 
the hair, raised his hatchet to kill her ; but, reflecting that 
he could possibly obtain a handsome sum for her ransom, he 
placed her on his horse and carried her to Auttose, on the 
Tallapoosa. Here she was often beaten, and made to bring 
water from the springs. One day Milly heard that the Auttoses 
had a white girl in slavery. She immediately mounted her pony, 
rode to Auttose, paid ten ponies and six head of cattle 

1792 for Tempey, and the next day carried this unfortunate 
child to her house. For several years she acted the part 
of a most affectionate mother. Subsequently the child was de- 
livered to Seagrove, the Creek Agent, at St. Mary's, and was 
sent from thence to her friends in Georgia. Old Milly was ex- 
ceedingly attached to Tempey, and gave her up with great 
reluctance.* 

* I have conversed with Terupey Ellis, she is now a respectable old woman, the wife 
of Mr. Thomas Frizell, residing in Pike county, Alabama. 



SINGULAR INHABITANTS OF ALABAMA. 421 

Near the prairies, within a few miles of this solitary woman, 
lived William Gregory, a native of one of the States, who had 
resided for years among the Indians. He was now a stockkeeper, 
and lived in a cabin, which contained his Indian family. As far 
as the eye could reach over the beautiful and gently rolling plains 
his cattle and horses fed, undisturbed by man or beast. It is 
said that William Gregory was a kind-hearted man, who fed the 
wanderer " without money and without price," and who, even in 
a lawless land, possessed a heart which prompted him to be 
honest. 

In 1785 came also into this neighborhood a Jew, named 
Abram Mordecai, a natr 9 of Pennsylvania, and who established 
a trading house at the spot where now stands the house of Mrs. 
Birch, two miles west of Line Creek. Here also lived James 
Russell, another trader, who, being a tory, had sought this place 
to be rid of whig persecution. A tory, named Love, and Dargan, 
a Dutchman and notorious horse thief, lived near the site of 
Mount Megs, where they carried on a small commerce. All these 
traders had Indian wives except Mordecai, whose faithful spouse 
was Indian considerably darkened with the blood of Ham. 

At Econchate, Red Ground, now embracing the southern 
suburbs of the city of Montgomery, lived several white traders. 
Charles Weatherford established a trading house upon the first 
eastern bluff below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, 
and laid out the first race-paths ever known in East Alabama. 
Often would the noted horse thief, fresh from the frontiers of 
Georgia, here for the first time try the speed of his stolen ponies. 

The most blood-thirsty, fiendish and cruel white man that 
ever inhabited any country was Savannah Jack, or, as 
he was universally called by this outlawed world, 1792 
il 8avaner Jack" who lived at Souvanoga, upon the Tal- 
lapoosa. He boasted that he had killed so many women and 
children, upon the Cumberland and Georgia frontiers, in company 



422 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

with his town's people, that he could swim in their blood if it 
was collected in one pool. 

Thus we see that the territory of Montgomery county, now 
the focus of so much wealth and intelligence, was then a wilder- 
ness, inhabited by Indians and the few singula]- characters who 
have been named. Indeed, all over the territory of Alabama 
and Mississippi, wherever an Indian town of importance 
was found, white traders lived. Some of them became wealthy, 
but like all property acquired in a commerce with Indians, it 
generally left the owner in his old age. One of these up-country 
traders, " Woccocoie Clarke," living at Woccocoie, in the modern 
Coosa county, transported his merchandise and skins upon 
seventy pack-horses. His squaw, who was of great assistance 
to him, he called Queen Anne, for Clarke was an Englishman. 

Besides skins of various kinds, the traders bought up bees- 
wax, hickory-nut oil, snake-root, together with various medicinal 
barks, and transported them to Augusta, and Pensacola on pack- 
horses, and to Mobile and New Orleans in large canoes. The 
pack-horses used in this trade were generally small ones, raised 
in the nation, but were capable of sustaining heavy loads and of 
enduring great fatigue. A saddle of a peculiar shape was first 
placed upon the pony. The load consisted of three bundles, each 

weighing sixty pounds. Two of these bundles were 
1792 suspended across the saddle, and came down by the 

sides of the pony, while the third was deposited on top 
of the saddle. The whole pack was covered with a skin to keep 
oft' the rain. Thus the pony sustained a load of one hundred and 
eighty pounds. Even liquids were conveyed in the same man- 
ner. Taft'ai, a mean rum, was carried on these horses in small 
kegs. Indeed, these hardy animals transported everything for 
sale ; and even poultry of all kinds was carried in cages made of 
reeds strapped upon their backs. A pack-horseman drove ten 
ponies in a lead. lie used no lines, but urged them on with big 
hickories and t3rrible oaths. Accustomed to their duty, they, 



8INGULAB INHABITANTS OF ALABAMA. 428 

however, seldom gave trouble, but jogged briskly along-. The 

route and the stopping places became familiar, and, as evening 
approached, the Little Fellows quickened their trot with new life 

and activity. When the sun retired over the hills the caravan 

slopped ; the packs were taken oil*, piled in a heap, and covered 

wiih skins; the horses were belled and turned out to And their 

food, which consisted Of grass and young cane. It was usually 

late the next morning before the horses were collected and 
packed, for no person in an Indian country is fool enough to 
regard time. An attack from the natives upon traders was of 
pare occurrence. They imagined that they needed the supplies 
which they brought into their country, and regarding these sin- 
gular merchants as their best friends, did not even rob them. A 
pack-horseman always drank taffai- it cheered him in the forest 
and emboldened bim in distress, with a bottle slung by his 
saddle he often indulged, while those before and behind him fol- 
lowed his custom. Those going to IVnsacola and other places 
were frequently in want of the stimulant, and it was 
customary for the traders, whom they met coming 1792 

from the market, to halt and treat and interchange 

jokes. The trader who suddenly rushed by a thirsty party was 

long remembered as a mean fellow. 

NTothing stopped these men on their journey. They swam 

all swollen creeks and rafted over their effects or produce. 
Where they had no canoes, rivers were crossed in the same 
manner. If they reached a stream having large cam; on its 
hanks, these were presently cut, ten feet long, and tied up into 
bundles abouc three feel in circumference, which were placed m 
the water. Across these others were laid, which formed 
an admirable raft, capable of sustaining great weight. 1792 
Logs were, also, often employed in tin; construction of 

rafts. Guided by long grapevines, they were generally dragged 

safely across to the opposite; side;, where the wet ponies stood, 
ready to receive their packs again. Then all hands drank taffai, 



IH1 HISTORY OF M.AKAIMA. 



and journeyed on, with light hearts and Laughing faoes. The 
average travel was twenty-five miles a day, The route from 
fensaoola was a well-beaten path, Leading up the country and 
aoross the fatal Murder Creek, and thenoe to within a few miles 
of the Catoma, when It diverged Lnto several trails, one of which 
Led to Tookabatoha, along the route of the old Federal road, the 
other to Montgomery and Wetumpka, by the Red Warrior's 
Bluff, now Grey's Ferry, upon the Tallapoosa. This trail con- 
tinued to the Tennessee river.* 

Northward, there were no white settlements between the 

Alabama river and the vicinity of Nashville. Here, in 171)^, 

the Creeks committed many depredations. They pushed their 
hostilities to the very doors of Nashville. They attacked the 
house of Thompson, a wealthy and respeotable man, killed the 
whole family, except ins Interesting daughter, just arrived at 
womanhood, whom they oarried Lnoaptivity to Kialigee, 
L792 upon the Tallapoosa river, together with an amiable 

lady, named Call'rcy, with her Little son. The unhappy 
prisoners found in this town a young woman, named Sarah 

Fletoher, who had, several years before, been captured in the 
Miro district, which was also called Cumberland district. Miss 

Thompson was ransomed by Riley, a trader, lor eight hundred 
weight Of dressed deerskins, worth two hundred and sixty dollars, 
and was treated with kindness by her benefactor, and restored to 
her friends. Mrs. ('alVrey was separated from her son, beaten 

with sticks, soratohed with gar's teeth, and made to work in tin; 

fields. After two years, she was also carried to Nashville, but 
without, her boy. The hi tic fellow became an Indian in his feel 
LngS, and, when he had been in the nation live years, it was with 

difficulty that Mordeoai oould separate him from his Indian play- 
mates, and carry him to Sea^rove. Thai gentleman sent him to 

• Conversation! with Abram Mordeoai, James Moore, and mans other <»i«i traders; 

also oouversal i with Hiram Mounger, of Washington oounty, Mrs. s<»|>iii;i MoComh, 

\h Hom '.mhI Laohlan Durant. in manj things, they are supported wj the n'i>on.s 
oontained in i ndian \ (Tairs, \ <»i. i. 



SINGULAR INHABITANTS OF ALABAMA. 425 

Governor Blount, and be finally reached bis mother's arms. The 
bloody Coosawdas, who lived upon the Alabama, were frequently 
out upon the Cumberland, engaged in the massacre of the 
settlers and the plunder of their effects. Captain Isaacs, the 

Chief of this town, returned, in 1 7 i > li , with Elizabeth Baker, 
a young lady from Cumberland. I low miserable and lonely 
must have been the journey, with these sanguinary warriors, 
who bore the scalps of her lather, mother, brothers and sisters, 
daily suspended upon poles before her eyes. When she ar- 
rived in Coosawda, the savages hung their trophies upon the 
COUncil-hoUSe, and danced around them with exulting shouts. 

But she found a friend In Charles Weatherford, who lived across 
the river. He ransomed Miss Baker, and placed her in charge 
of his wife, Sehoy, the half sister of General McGillivray, and 
the mother of the celebrated William Weatherford, who will 
figure in this history hereafter. The unfortunate captive ulti- 
mately reached her friends. It would be an endless task, to 

enumerate all tin; Instances of murder and captivity which oc- 
curred upon tin; frontiers of Georgia and Tennessee.* 

• Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 181-438-270 274-684. 



CIIAPTKK XXVIII. 



hi mi of M< '(iii.i.ivha v — Bloody Scenes 



The Spanish authorities of Louisiana and the Flondas were 
aoousel of producing the bloody scenes, to winch allusion was 

made In our last chapter. Great jealousies and diffioul 
L792 lie: < «1 ted between them and the southwestern people 

of the United States, and even between them and the 
federal Government. John Jay, on the part <>r the latter, and 
Don Guardoqui, representing Spain, began ;< correspondence al 
New YmU, then He- seat of the Federal Government, ;>s early ;>s 
L785, i«'i the purpose of Bottling the matters in dispute. Jay In 
sisted upon the right of the people of the Union, now fast set 
tling upon the head branches of the Tennessee, the Cumberland 
and the <>hio, to navigate the Mississippi to the Gulf, with their 
oommeroe, free <>f duty, and also the right tooooupy, exclusively, 
all the territory east of that river, as low down as the line of 
81°, all of whioh, he contended, was consistent with our treaty 
wiiii England, made in i v s j . Guardoqui resisted these olaims, 
wiiii great show of reason. ii<- oontended that Don Galvez, 

in I7SO, hy Ins victories, tOOk from England, Mobile, Baton 

Rouge, and Fort Pan mure, at Natohez, with ;iii their depend- 
encies; that, at the same time, Captains Parre and Villars, with 
Spanish troops, took formal possession of the English posts on 
the Upper Mississippi, east of that river,* one of whioh was situ- 
ated two hundred and twenty iw<> leagues above si. Louis; that, 
in 1781, Don Galvez oompleted these conquests by the reduotion 
Hi Pensaoola; that the territories now in dispute were, at the 
i one oi the ligningof the treaty between England and the United 

i M 



DEATH OF If'GILLlVBAI BLOODY BGKNKS. 127 

States, solely In the occupation of Spain, and that England bad 
no right to negotiate in regard to them, and, in fact, did not really 
do so, but rather "tacitly left safe the territorial rights <»i bit 
Catholio Majesty." These position ■ were met by Jay, i»y a ref 
erenoe to the treaty which Spain made with England, seven 
weeks after the latter bad made the one with us. in the eighth 
article, Spain agreed i<> restore, without compensation, nil the 
English territories conquered by her, except the Fioridas, the 
northern limit of whioh, he asserted, was 81°; that Spain was 
bound, by this article, to have delivered up to England (who was 
to deliver to the United States) all the territory claimed by 
Georgia, from the Chattahooohie to the Mississippi, between 83 
and 86°, Bui there was the rub. Which was the northern 
boundary <>i Spanish West Florida? We have Impartially exam 
Ined this subject. The charter of Charles [I. to the lords pro 
prietors of South Carolina, under whioh Georgia olaimed al] the 
present States <>i Alabama and Mississippi, that monarch bad no 
right to make. The territory <>r these States was discovered <io 
say nothing <>r the conquest of De Soto) by the French, under 
Marquette and i>;i Salle, and then by Iberville. Alabama and 
Mississippi were Immediately occupied by France. That power 
continued i<> bold possession for sixty-two years, We have seen 
1 1 mi she did not surrender these territories to England until 1768 
These territories were occupied, then, by England from I 
until 1780 <>r 1781, when they fell by conquest Into the bands of 
Spain, who Immediately occupied them with her troops and ex 
tended over them her government. Well, now, where was the 
just claim of the United States for Georgia? Did England have 
any right to transfer to us, In ;< treaty, territories of winch he 
had three years before been deprived by Spanish conquest? Nayj 
England not only bad no right i<> do that, but she admitted she 
had no right when, seven weeks afterwards, she concluded ;i 
treaty with Spain, and confirmed to her West Florida,, the Brit- 



428 HISTORY OP ALABAMA. 

isli northern line of which was 32° 28', and not 31°, as contended 
for by Jefferson, Jay, and various American historians. 

The negotiations between Guardoqui and Jay resulted in noth- 
ing, and the navigation of the Lower Mississippi remained closed 
against American citizens. In the meantime Spain became alarmed. 
The treaty with McGillivray at New York and the move- 
1792 ments of the first Yazoo companies aroused her. She 
March asked for a renewal of negotiations. The President res- 
ponded by sending to Madrid Carmichael and Short, 
who entered into negotiations once more with Guardoqui, who 
had been recalled to Spain, and was then Secretary of Foreign 
Affairs.* After much correspondence, in which both powers 
frequently accused each other of improper interference with the 
Indians inhabiting the disputed region, over whom they each ex- 
clusively claimed the superintendence, the negotiations termi- 
nated, without arrangement satisfactory to us. All that 
1793 Spain would admit, was the probability of her ultimately 
April allowing the northern boundary of her West Florida pos- 
sessions to be the line of 32° 28', while she was also 
disposed to allow the establishment of a warehouse at the mouth 
of the Yazoo, in which American citizens could deposit their pro- 
duce, from their own boats, brought down the Mississippi. These 
productions were then to be taken to New Orleans in Spanish 
boats, and sold or exported, subject to Spanish duties. f All this 
time the agents of Spain, near the Federal Government, were 
constantly annoying Jefferson, the Secretary, with a series of 
complaints against Governor Blount, of Tennessee, and Seagrove, 
the Creek Agent, which were answered by similar complaints 
against the Spaniards on the part of the latter. Much ill-feeling 
was elicited between these parties, while the people of Georgia 
were perfectly rampant, censuring the Federal authorities for the 
weakness, irresolution and tardiness displayed in conducting the 

♦American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, pp. 131-137; also, Foreign Mtairs, 
vol. l, }>i». 26JJ-255. 
f American State Papers, Boston edition, vol 10, pp. 159-162. 



DEATH OF M'GILLIVRAY BLOODY SCKNES. 429 

negotiations. They proclaimed that, if the United States much 
longer neglected to drive the Spaniards from their territory, they 
would undertake it themselves. The horizon of this vast Indian 
wilderness was still further darkened by the incessant border 
warfare between the Indians and the frontier Americans * Spain 
assumed very high and unwarrantable grounds, in one respect. 
She even opposed the running of the line around the Oconee 
lands, and it was made the subject of remonstrance to the Fed- 
eral Government. She claimed a surveillance over the affairs of 
the Creeks, by her treaty with them, at Pensacola, and avowed 
her determination to protect them against the encroachments of 
the Georgians. As none of the Oconee territory lay within the 
limits of West Florida, Spain certainly stepped beyond reason 
in seeking a quarrel with the Americans about it. 

General McGillivray continued to make visits to Governor 
Carondelet. In returning from New Orleans, late in the summer 
of 1792, a violent fever detained him long in Mobile. Recover- 
ing, he went to Little Tallase, where he wrote his last letter to 
Major Seagrove. He appeared to deplore the unhappy disturb- 
ances which existed, and ascribed them to the interference of the 
Spaniards with our affairs. He had often responded to the let- 
ters of the Secretary of War, in relation to carrying out the pro- 
visions of the New York treaty, and, several times, assured him 
that he had explained that instrument frequently to the Chiefs, 
and had urged them to comply, but that the Spanish influence 
had defeated his recommendations. In one of his letters, he says 
to the Secretary : "You will recollect, sir, that I had great ob- 
jection to making the south fork of the Oconee the limit, and, 
when you insisted so much, I candidly told you that it might be 
made an article, but I could not pledge myself to get it confirmed, 
or that of the restoration of the negro property, which had so 
often changed owners." 

But this remarkable man was fast approaching dissolution. 

* American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, pp. 185-186. 



430 HISTORY OF ALAI'.AMA. 



He had long been afflicted, and was always of a delicate 

1792 constitution. He spent the winter upon Little river, 
and which now divides the counties of Monroe and Baldwin. 

1793 The account of his death is presented in the language of 
the great merchant, William Panton, in a letter, dated 

Pensacola, April 10, 1794, and addressed to Lachlan McGil- 
livray, the father of the Chieftain, who was, at that time, still 
alive at Dun magi ass, Scotland. 

* * * "Your son, sir, was a man that I esteemed greatly. 
I was perfectly convinced that our regard for each other was 
mutual. It so happened that we had an interest in serving each 
other, which first brought us together, and the longer we were 
acquainted the stronger was our friendship. 

" I found him deserted by the British without pay, without 
money, without friends and without property, saving a few 
negroes, and he and his nation threatened with destruction by 
the Georgians, unless they agreed to cede them the better part 
of their country. I had the good fortune to point out a mode by 
which he could save them all, and it succeeded beyond expect- 
ation. 

* * * "He died on the 17th February, 1793, of compli- 
cated disorders — of inflamed lungs and the gout on his stomach. 
He was taken ill on the path coming from his cow-pen on Little 
river, where one of his wives, Joseph Ournell's daughter, resided, 
and died eight days after his arrival here. No pains, no atten- 
tion, no cost was spared to save the life of my friend. But fate 
would have it otherwise, and he breathed his last in my arms. 

* * # n Hq di ec [ possessed of sixty negroes, three hundred 
head of cattle, with a large stock of horses. 

* * * " I advised, I supported, I pushed him on, to be 
the great man. Spaniards and Americans felt his weight, and 
this enabled him to haul me after him, so as to establish this 
house with more solid privileges than, without him, I should 
have attained. This being the case, if he had lived, I meant, 



DEATH OF M'GILLIVKAV — BLOODY SCENES. 431 

besides what he was owing me, to have added considerably to 
his stock of negroes. What I intended to do for the father I 
will do tor his children. This ought not to operate against your 
making that ample provision for your grandson and his two 
sisters which you have it in your power to make. They have 
lately lost their mother, so that they have no friends, poor 
things, but you and me. My heart bleeds for them, and what I 
can I will do. The boy, Aleck, is old enough to be sent to Scot- 
land to school, which I intend to do next year, and then you will 
see him."* 

General McGillivray was interred with Masonic honors in 
the splendid garden of William Panton, in the city of Pen- 
sacola. He was a severe loss to that gentleman and to the 
Spanish government. His death, among the Indians, everywhere, 
produced deep sorrow and regret. The great Chieftain, who had 
so long been their pride, and who had elevated their nation, and 
sustained it in its trials, now lay buried in the sands of the 
Seminoles. 

General McGillivray was six feet high, spare made, and re- 
markably erect in person and carriage. His eyes were large, dark 
and piercing. His forehead was so peculiarly shaped, that the 
old Indian countrymen often spoke of it: it commenced expand- 
ing at his eyes, and widened considerably at the top of his head. 
It was a bold and lofty forehead. His fingers were long and 
tapering, and he wielded a pen with the greatest rapidity. His 
face was handsome, and indicative of quick thought and much 
sagacity. Unless interested in conversation, he was disposed to 
be taciturn, but, even then, was polite and respectful. When a 
British colonel, he dressed in the British uniform, and when in 
the Spanish service, he wore the military dress of that country. 
When Washington appointed him a brigadier-general, he some- 
times wore the uniform of the American army, but never when 

* I found Panton's letter among the bundle of papers in the District Court of New 
Orleans. 



432 BISTORT OF ALABAMA. 

in the presence of the Spaniards. His usual dress was a mixture 
of the Indian and American garb. He always travelled with two 
servants, David Francis, a half-breed, and Paro, a negro, who 
saved the lives of over a hundred royalists, in 1781, as we have 
seen. He had good houses at the Hickory Ground and at Little 
Tallase, where he entertained, free of charge, distinguished 
government agents, and persons travelling through his extensive 
dominions. Like all other men, he had his faults. He was 
ambitious, crafty, and rather unscrupulous ; yet he possessed a 
good heart, and was polite and hospitable. For ability and 
sagacity, the reader will admit that he had few superiors. We 
have called him the Talleyrand of Alabama. Will not his polit- 
ical acts, but a few of which have been presented for the want 
of space, entitle him to that appellation ? 

The Indian sky still remainedjdarkened by scenes of murder 
and robbery. The Chehaw Creeks, upon the Flint, instigated by 
William Burgess, a trader in the Spanish interest, plundered the 

store of Robert Seagrove, at Trader's Hill, upon the St. 
1793 Mary's, killed Fleming, the clerk, and two travellers, 
Mar. named Moffit and Upton, most cruelly beating, with 

sticks, a woman residing there, named Ann Grey. Six 
miles from the hill, they killed a family of men, women and 
children, moving in their wagons, and made prisoners a woman 
and a child, whom they reserved for greater sufferings. The 

inhabitants of the new counties of Glynn and Camden 
April often felt such attacks. At the Skull Shoals, of the 

Oconee, Richard Thrasher, two children and a negio 
woman, were shot down, while his wife, plunging into the 
river, with a babe in her arms, received a ball in her head, turned 
over, and sunk beneath the waves. Governor Telfair deter- 
mined, at once, to raise a large force for the invasion of the 
Creek country. Washington, at the solicitation of the Georgia 
delegation in Congress, sent to Augusta a large stand of arms and 
ammunition. He authorized Governor Telfair to enlist a few 



DEATH OF M'GILLIVKAY BLOODY SCENES. 433 

companies for the protection of Georgia, but remonstrated against 
the contemplated invasion, stating that it was unauthorized by 
law, would embarrass the negotiations still pending between the 
Federal agents and the Creeks, and also those going on with 
Spain, and that the enemy had only killed some people upon the 
remote frontiers. But Governor Telfair, with the true spirit of 
a Georgian, heeded him not, and resolved to "carry the war into 
Africa." He disdained to accept of the troops which the Presi- 
dent had authorized him to raise, but placed General Twiggs at 
the head of seven hundred mounted men. That gallant officer, 
of revolutionary memory, marched to the Ockmulgee 
river, where a mutinous spirit and the want of provis- 1793 
ions caused a retreat. This abortive attempt at con- June 
quest emboldened the Creeks to new scenes of pillage 
and blood. Although mortified at the failure of his first attempt 
at invasion, Governor Telfair did not relax in his exertions to 
protect the people, but constantly scoured the country between 
the Oconee and Ockmulgee, with a large force of mounted 
militia, which, for a time, stopped the Indian ravages. These 
operations again called out the remonstrances of Washington 
which had no effect whatever upon the Georgians, many of whom 
entertained for the President the most implacable hostility, and 
placed his effigies upon pine trees, and fired guns at them. It is 
a very common belief, with people of modern times, that Wash- 
ington, during his executive career, had no enemies. He re- 
ceived as much abuse, not only in Georgia, but in various por- 
tions of the Union, as any of our Presidents.* 

Although Seagrove had been Superintendent over two years, 
he had never entered the Creek nation, but had communicated 
with the Chiefs through an honest and intelligent man, named 
Timothy Barnard, who had long resided among the red 
people. At Cusseta, that gentleman met a council of 1793 
Chiefs, the most prominent of whom were the White March 
Lieutenant, John Kinnard, the Mad Dog, the Head King, 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 362-368. 28 



434 HISTORY QF ALABAMA. 

and Alexander Curnells, representing the Upper and Lower 
Towns, who requested him to assure Seagrove that they desired 
to see him in their country, and promised to protect him while 
he remained with them. But the efforts of the agent to restore 
peace, and to procure the marking of the boundary, were embar- 
rassed by the military operations of Governor Telfair, who as- 
sured him that his contemplated mission to the Creek nation 
would result in no good; that his mind was made up to chastise 
the Creeks, until they restored the white prisoners, the negroes, 
and other stolen property, and delivered up ten hostages from 
the Upper, and an equal number from the Lower Towns, to- 
gether with thirteen principal hostiles, to be put to death by the 
people of Georgia; that he would submit to no treaty made with 
the Creeks, where Georgia agents were not allowed to partici- 
pate. Such was the treaty of New York. It is singular that 
this treaty, made by Washington, for the good of all parties con- 
cerned, should have been so violently opposed. The Spaniards, 
as was anticipated, denounced it, but it received equal opposition 
from the Creeks and Georgians. 

Notwithstanding the high grounds assumed by Governor 
Telfair, Seagrove resolved to go into the nation ; but was deterred 
by information which he received that a body of armed men, 
under Captain Peter B. Williamson,* intended to intercept and 
prevent him, and that the Georgia troops had destroyed 
1793 Little Ocfuskee, upon the Chattahoochie, which resulted 
Sept. 21 in the death of six Indians, while eight othere were car- 
ried prisoners to Greensboro. Barnard was again sent 
to the Chattahoochie, who, after a council with the Chiefs, re- 
turned, with another invitation for Seagrove to visit their coun- 
try, and that, although they were much aroused against the 
Georgians for this attack upon a peaceable town, they imputed 
no blame to the Federal authorities. Finally, the agent set out 
from Fort Fidius, escorted by a military guard, to "prevent," as 



* AfterwardH Judge of the County Court of Lowndes, Alabama. 



DEATH OF m'oii.uvkay — BLOODY SCENES. 435 

he wrote to the Secretary of War, "my being robbed by the 
frontier banditti, who two days ago stole ten of the horses upon 
Which I had to carry goods to tin; Indians." Seagrove bad the 
reputation of being a timid man, and of not entertaining a very 
high sense of honor. Arriving at the Ockmulgee theescort was dis- 
missed, when one hundred and thirty Indian warriors took charge 
of his person from thence to Cusseta, upon the < 'battahoocbie. At 
this place he was saluted by the Indians with the beating of 
drums and the roars of a piece of artillery. He advanced to 
Tookabatcha, the capital of the nation, which Lay upon 
the west bank of the Tallapoosa. He occupied one Nov.28 
whole day in a speech to a vast assembly, and, although 
surrounded by Spanish agents and enemies, in; rose above his 

Character, boldly pointed out the aggressions of tin; ('reeks, ami 

their faithlessness in not complying with the New York treaty. 

The council sat forty-eight hours without adjournment, and 
then rose, having stipulated, on the part of the Creeks, to deliver 
to Seagrove tin; negroes, horses, cattle, and other property taken 
from the Georgians during the last twelve months. They further 
agreed to put to death two or more of the principals engaged in 
the late murders upon the frontiers. The Spanish agent, Captain 
Don Pedro Oliver, was present, and congratulated Seagrove upon 
what he was pleased to term his fortunate mission. 

Having remained at Tookabatcha some weeks, arranging his 
business with the Chiefs, Seagrove one night was attacked by the 
Tallase King at the head of a party ; his house was plundered, 
and he was forced to fly for his life to a pond, thick with trees 
and bushes. There he remained several hours, up to his waist 
in cold water, expecting every moment to be scented out, dragged 
forth and put to death. In the morning the Chiefs Interposed, 
pacified the Tallase King, and the trembling agent came out 
from his watery place of refuge. The Tallase King was one of 
those who had conveyed away the Oconee lands, at Augusta, and 



436 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



who, like the Georgians, entertained no good feeling for the Fed- 
eral agent.* 

A spirited border war continued to be waged upon the 
northern frontiers. Captain Hadley, whose troops had been at- 
tacked upon the Cumberland mountain, was brought to Willstown 
by the victorious party, composed of Creeks, Cherokees and 
Shawnees. They debated, for several days, upon his life, which 
was at length saved, through the solicitations of Alexander 
Campbell and John McDonald, two old British traders of Wills- 
town, but now in the Spanish interest. Great preparations were 
on foot, in this region, for the final extermination of the Cumber- 
land people. John Watts, a Cherokee half-breed, had regularly 
organized three companies of mounted Indians, who had been 
furnished with the necessary arms by Governor Carondelet. A 
large deputation of Shawnees, from the north, had just completed 
a campaign through the Creek nation, endeavoring to enlist re- 
cruits for that end, and had succeeded in collecting six hundred 
and seventeen warriors, who passed through Willstown on their 
way up. The people of East Tennessee, also, felt the attacks of 
these marauding parties. They defended themselves 
1793 with bravery, but sometimes were guilty of acts of 
June 12 great imprudence, which served to irritate the In- 
dians who were friendly. Captain Beard, at the head 
of mounted militia, attacked the peaceable people of Hiwassa, 
wounded Hanging Maw, the Chief, and killed his wife and a 
dozen others. The Indians rallied and repulsed the asailants. 
Such was the state of feeling and alarm, that Governor Blount 
placed General Sevier at the head of six hundred mounted men. 
That officer, crossing the Tennessee below the mountains, 
marched for the Oostanaula, where he made some Chero- 
1793 kee prisoners. Proceeding to the site of the modern 
Oct. 17 Rome, he discovered Indian entrenchments on the oppo- 
site bank of the Etowah. Plunging into that stream, the 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 305-412-422-471-472. Also conversations with old Indian 
countrymen. , 



DEATH OF M'GILLIVRAY — BLOODY SCENHS. 437 

troops gained the southern bank, and, after a fight of an hour, the 
Indians gave way, bearing off their dead and wounded, but leav- 
ing their camp equipage, horses, Spanish guns and ammunition. 
General Sevier afterwards scoured this whole region, without op- 
position, and returned to East Tennessee. It appeared that the 
evil one, himself, was stalking through this wild region, for, in- 
dependently of the commotions upon the frontiers of Georgia and 
Tennessee, the Creeks and Chickasaws were engaged in a bloody 
war, while French emissaries were at work to estrange the affec- 
tions of the Southwestern people from the Federal Government.* 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 434-439-441-454-464-470. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

The French Ministeb, Genet- His Designs Upon the 

Southwest. 

Louis XVI., the friend of America, had been beheaded at 
Taris, and Robespierre and other hyenas swayed unhappy Prance. 
Genet was their American Minister. Upon ins arrival 
171k; in the United States he assumed unwarrantable grounds. 
Jan. 26 Aftei failing to enlist Washington in his Jacobinical no- 
lions of liberty, he sought to disaffeot the Southern and 
Western people, and to dismember the Union. He took advan- 
tage of the excited feeling of the population upon the Holston, 
Cumberland, Ohio and other tributaries of the Mississippi, who 
had Long denounced the Federal Government for allowing them 
no protection against the savages, and for not compelling the 
Spaniards, who held the Lower Mississippi, to grant them the 
free navigation <>f that river, [ndeed, these brave and adventur- 
ous people had just grounds of complaint. They were cut off 
from the test of the Union, and had to defend themselves, while 

their rich products of corn, Hour and tobacco rotted at their 

doors on account of the arbitrary laws of the Spanish provinces 
below them. They, naturally enough, entertained no love for a 

Union which was no advantage to them. The (Jeorgians, on the 

other hand, claimed all the territory between 81° and 86°, from 

the Savannah to the Mississippi, and, although independent Of 

the navigation of the " Father of Waters," viewed its exclusive 
occupation by the Spaniards as a great outrage, not only against 
their rights, but those of their Northwestern brethren. Georgia 
was also irritated with the Federal Government for its Irresolu- 
te 



GENET'S DESIGNS tfPON THE SOUTHWEST. 189 

tion and tardiness in adjusting her various rights, both in regard 

to the Spaniards and ('reeks, as we have repeatedly seen. Again, 
Genet was further encouraged in bis nefarious schemes on ac- 
count of the war which was then declared between France and 
Spain. He was Led to believe, from all these circumstances, that 
it would be an easy matter to make the disaffected citizens of 
the United States allies of France, and, associated with the dis- 
satisfied Frencb population on the Mississippi, he could over- 
throw the Spanish provinces of Louisiana and flic Floridas, and 
establish a government dependent upon the republic of France. 

Two expeditions Were planned by him in fin; West while in 

Charleston. Several distinguished citizens had accepted com- 
missions under him. The desire to invade the Floridas pre- 
vailed in Georgia to an alarming extent. From the frontiers 
of South Carolina and Kentucky detachments, called fin; 
"French Legion," marched to places of rendezvous. They 
were to serve three months, and receive bounties of land. 
Genet was to hav<; been commander-in-chief. His most 
influential and powerful assistant was Genera] Elijah Clarke, of 
Georgia. That gentleman had despatched an agent to Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky, who purchased, upon his credit, two boats, pow- 
der and cannon ball, which were conveyed flown the Ohio. An 
agent was furnished with ten thousand dollars, to purchase sup- 
plies for a Georgia army, to assemble ;it St. Mary's. 
Clarke had authority to issue military appointments, in 17!) I 
tin; name of tin; French republic, and be constituted Pe- March 
ter B.Williamson, major, Carr, a colonel, and con- 
ferred the commission of captain on Bird and other citizens 

of Georgia. The French sloop-of-war, Las ('asas, direct from 
Charleston, anchored at St. Mary's, within musket-shot of tin; 

American post, which was in command of Major (Jail her. Sin- 
was destined for Louisiana, and her officers asserted that thir- 
teen sail, large and well-manned, were yet to follow, from differ- 
ent ports of the United States. In the meantime, boat-builders 



440 history OF ALABAMA. 

were vigorously employed upon the Ohio, and persons of char- 
acter and wealth sold their property at auction, to facilitate their 
completion. A considerable body of Creeks and Cberokees had 
Likewise been enlisted in the cause of the « French republic." 
The Governor of Mast Florida, alarmed at these preparations, 
remonstrated with Governor Mathews, of Georgia, who imme- 
diately issued his proclamation, forbidding the, people of 
May I I Georgia to engage in such enterprises. Shortly after- 
wards, Washington issued a proclamation against the 
whole project, and authorized Governor Mathews to employ all 
the United States troops, then in Georgia, to put down the con- 
templated invasion. 

Governor Carondelet was active in preparations for defence. 
He strengthened New Orleans, and added troops to the fort at 
Mobile, and other posts, while he erected new ones at several 
points below the month of tin; Ohio. The militia, throughout 
Louisiana and the Florida s, were completely organized. It is 
strange that the Karon Carondelet should, at this time, have re- 
sorted to the same scheme contemplated by his enemy, Genet. 
He, too, despatched an emissary — an Englishman, named Pow- 
ers among the Western American citizens, with offers of arms, 
ammunition, money and tree navigation, if they would join his 
standard, and separate; themselves from the Federal Union. Hut 
his plans, as well as those of Genet, were defeated by the firm- 
ness of Washington and the loyalty of tin; States of 
1701 Georgia and South Carolina. The latter, too, came to 
the resoue of the Federal Government — the Legislature 
adopting measures for the arrest of Genet's agents.* 

Seagrove remained at Tookabatcha until the 1st of April. 
Then he departed lor Georgia, with a delegation of Chiefs, 
who visited Governor Mathews, who appears to have been a 
more conciliatory man than the iiery Telfair, who had now gone 

* Amcrloa.il State Papers, Foreign Relations, i<>ii<> edition, vol. 1, pp. 464-460. Mar* 
tin's History of Louisiana, vol. 2, pp 91 118 122 128-126-127-128. Monette's History of the 
Valley <>i the Mississippi, vol. i, pp. W9 485-492 496 DOS BIO. 



GENET'S DESIGNS UPON THB soi THWBST. 441 

out of office. The Chiefs expressed a desire for peace, and 
Governor Mathews sent them back to the nation, well pleased 
with their visit, and guarded by a detachment, under General 

Glasscock. 

A new settlement, contemplated wesl of theOoonee, was now 

about to originate more trouble with the Creeks. The restless 
and enterprising General Elijah Clarke, who had fought with so 
much indomitable OOUrage, and who had displayed such remark- 
able endurance, during the whole of the revolutionary war, and 
was one of the best whigs that ever Lived, was at the head <>!' 
this movement, and that, too, immediately upon tin; heels of the 
abortive attempt to invade Florida. After the revolution, In- 
continued to defend his State, and his resolute spirit and mighty 
arm beat oil' many a murderous savage band. Hut lie was too 
impulsive and restless for times of peace. He now undertook to 
extinguish the Creek claims, in a very practical manner. 
With a large party of men, he began a settlement op- 17!U 
posite Fort Fidius, on the west side of the Oconee, niton .July 
Indian tertitory. General Irwin, on the part of tin- 
State, ordered him to remove, which be refused to do. Mathews 
turbid, by proclamation, the contemplated settlement, and accused 
Clarke of an attempt to form a separate and independent govern- 
ment. The latter appeared at the Superior Court of Wilkes, and 
surrendered himself to the Judge, who placed his case before the 
Magistrates. These worthy and Learned men went into a full 
history of the laws of the United States, those of Georgia, those 
Of tin; world, called the " law of nations," those of the Creeks, 
and those of the Spaniards, and came to the very Liberal decision, 
endorsed upon the indictment, " that the said Elijah Clarke be, 
and is, hereby discharged? 

Many people now Hocked to the standard of Clarke. His 
settlements were pushed with vigor, a town was laid off, and 
Forts Advance and Defiance were erected and garrisoned. Wash- 
ington was uneasy at this movement, and requested Governor 



442 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Mathews to put down all attempts at the occupation of the Indian 
domain, and promising to furnish him with troops from South 
Carolina, if it should become necessary. Mathews directed Gen- 
erals Twiggs and Irwin to break up these establishments. They 
approached them with Georgia militia, who acted with 
1794 great firmness and moderation. Clarke, abandoned by 
Sept. 25 all his men except twenty, surrendered, upon condition 
that his property, and that of the colonists, should be 
returned to them. The forts and houses were destroyed by fire, 
and the affair happily ended, without the shedding of a drop of 
blood. 

The northern frontiers were still disturbed by Indian ma- 
rauding parties. Major James Ore advanced from Nashville, 
with five hundred and fifty mounted infantry, to the 
Sept. 13 town of Nickajack, surrounded and attacked it by sur- 
prise, and killed many of its inhabitants, while nineteen 
women and children were made prisoners. On his march from 
thence up the river, he was attacked at the Narrows by the 
savages, who, after a few fires, gave way and retreated to Run- 
ning Water, which was soon taken, and likewise destroyed. Ore 
re-crossed the Tennessee, before night, and took up the line of 
march for Nashville, with his prisoners and a large quantity of 
effects, which had been taken by the Indians from various per- 
sons. Andrew Jackson, afterwards President, was a private in 
this expedition.* 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 495-500-632. Kendall's Life of Jackson, p. 89. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The Second Yazoo Sale. 

The winter of 1794 and 1795 was remarkable for the cele- 
brated Yazoo speculation, or, as the more intolerant opponents 
of the measure termed it, the " Yazoo fraud." We have already 
seen how a prior sale of territory, lying in Alabama and Misssis- 
sippi, by the Georgia Legislature, ultimately terminated. 
We have said that we did not believe that Georgia, un- 1794 
der the treaties made between Spain, Great Britain and and 
the United States, in 1782 and 1783, had a right to the 1795 
extensive territory lying between the Chattahoochie and 
the Mississippi, but, as the Federal Government contended that 
she had, it ought to have placed her in possession of the country, 
by the expulsion of the Spaniards. The Georgians felt much 
aggrieved by the conduct of the General Government, in not only 
permitting the Spaniards to occupy what they really believed to 
be their soil, but in suffering them constantly to instigate the 
Creeks in killing and plundering their frontier population, and 
in interfering with their treaties. In truth, Georgia did not 
recognize the right, even in the Federal Government, to make 
treaties with the Indians, respecting the territory which she 
claimed — while the General Government, on the other hand, did 
not admit any right in Georgia to make treaties. These, and 
many other things of a like nature, we are charitable enough to 
believe, prompted the Yazoo sale. 

The first bill which the Legislature of Georgia passed, in re- 
gard to the Yazoo sale, at the session of 1794, was returned with 
the objections of Governor George Mathews. He contended that 

443 



444 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

the time had not arrived for the disposal of the terri- 

1794 tory ; that the sum offered for it was not enough; that 
Dec. 29 the quantity reserved for the citizens was too small ; 

that greater advantages were secured to purchasers than 

to citizens ; that it would operate as a monopoly ; and that at 

least one-fourth of the lands ought to be reserved for the 

1795 future disposal of the State. The Legislature became 
Feb. 7 excited at the veto of the bill, and in a few days passed 

another, which Governor Mathews signed. 

Governor Mathews was a man of honor and integrity. He 
vetoed the first bill, not on account of any fraud which he sup- 
posed the Legislature was committing upon the Federal Govern- 
ment, for, in common with many other prominent citizens of 
Georgia, he believed that the State had a right to sell its own 
lands ; but he vetoed it for the reasons which we have enumer- 
ated. 

Governor Mathews was a native of Ireland, and landed upon 
the Virginia shore in 1737. Establishing himself in the county 
of Augusta, he immediately became a formidable and fearless de- 
fender of the country against the Indians west of the Ohio, who 
frequently made incursions into Western Virginia. After many 
combats, in defence of his father's house, and those of his neigh- 
bors, he was appointed a captain, and participated in the most 
gallant manner in the great battle fought between the Virginians 
and Indians, at the junction of the Ohio with the Kenawha, on 
the 10th October, 1774. In 1775 he was elected a colonel of the 
ninth regiment, and for two years he commanded it on the east- 
ern shore of Virginia, after which he joined General Washington. 
Colonel Mathews commanded his regiment at Brandy wine, and at 
the battle of Germantown captured a regiment of the enemy. He 
received a very severe wound with a bayonet in another skirmish, 
was taken a prisoner, and confined on board a British ship in the 
harbor of New York. He was not exchanged until the termina- 
tion of the war, when he joined General Greene as commander of 



THE SECOND YAZOO SALE. 445 



the third Virginia regiment. He removed to '* Goose Pond," on 
Broad river, Georgia, in 1785, with his family. One year after- 
wards he was elected Governor of the State. Under the present 
constitution he was the first representative of Georgia in Con- 
gress, and in 1794, 1795, he was again Governor. 

Governor Mathews was short in stature and compactly made. 
His hair was light, and his complexion was fair and florid. He 
wore a three-cornered cocked hat, a pair of top-boots, a shirt full- 
ruffled in front and at the wrist, and occasionally a long sword 
at his side. He was a man of unsurpassed bravery, and of 
indomitable energy. His mind was of a strong and vigor- 
ous order, but wholly uncultivated, except by observation of 
men and things. His education was more limited than that 
of any other man of the same distinction. In consequence of his 
valuable military services, the Legislature of Virginia has pre- 
served his memory in the name of one of the counties of that 
State. 

The preamble to the Yazoo bill declared that the articles of 
confederation stipulated that each State was to retain her terri- 
tory ; that, by the treaty of Paris, of 1783, the boundaries of 
Georgia, as well as those of other States, were confirmed ; that 
they were consistent with all the former acts of Georgia, and 
with the convention held at Beaufort, in 1787, between South 
Carolina and Georgia; that tbe States had the right of pre-emp- 
tion, as well as the full exercise of all territorial rights ; that the 
Legislature disapproved of the New York treaty with McGilliv- 
ray ; that the President had no authority to guarantee therein all 
the territory west of the Oconee to the Creeks ; and that Georgia 
clearly had the right to convey fee simple titles to all her territo- 
ries to individuals or companies. 

The act stipulated that one-fifth of the purchase money 
should be paid into the Georgia treasury previous to the passage 
of the bill. The remainder was to be paid on the 1st November 
following, secured, by a mortgage, to the Governor. Payments 



446 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

were to be made in specie, United States Bank bills, or military 
warrants, drawn by the Governor, from 1791 to 1795, inclusive, 

For the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the 
Legislature sold to James Gunn, Matthew McAllister, George 
Walker and their associates, termed the " Georgia Company," 
an immense area of territory, which now embraces the following 
modern counties : 

In Alabama — Clarke, Marengo, Greene, Perry, Autauga, 
Bibb, Shelby, Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Fayette, Jefferson, St. ('lair, 
the southern portions of Blount, Walker and Marion, and por- 
tions of Wilcox, Monroe, Dallas, Sumter and Baldwin. 

In Mississippi — The larger portions of Kemper, Neshoba, 
Leake, Madison, Yazoo and Issaquena, all of Washing- 
1795 ton, Holmes, Attala, Winston, Noxubee, Lowndes, 
Feb. 7 Oktibbeha, Choctaw, Carroll, Sunflower, Bolivar, Talla- 
hatchie, Yalabusha, Chickasaw and Monroe. 

For the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the 
Legislature sold to Nicholas Long, Thomas Glasscock, Ambrose 
Gordon, Thomas Cumming, and their associates, called the 
" Georgia Mississippi Company," all the territory out of which 
has since been formed the following counties : 

In Mississippi — The northern portions of Greene, Perry, 
Marion, Pike, Amite and Wilkinson, all of Adams, Franklin, 
Lawrence, Covington, Jones, Wayne, Jefferson, Copiah, Simpson, 
Smith, Jasper, Clarke, Lauderdale, Newton, Scott, Rankin, Hinds, 
Warren, Claiborne, and the southern portions of Yazoo, Issa- 
quena, Madison, Leake, Neshoba and Kemper. 

In Alabama — Nearly all of old Washington and Sumter, and 
the southwest corner of Greene. 

For the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, that body also 
conveyed to Wade Hampton, John B. Scott and John C. 
Nightingale, termed the "Upper Mississippi Company," the 
territory extending entirely across the extreme northern part of 
the State of Mississippi, twenty-five miles deep, now embracing 



THE SECOND YAZOO SALE. 447 

the northern portions of the modern counties of De Soto, Mar- 
shall, Tippah, Tishamingo and a fragment of the northern part 
of Tunica. 

For the sum of sixty thousand dollars the Legislature of 
Georgia also sold to Zachariah Coxe, Mathias Maher and their 
associates, called the " Tennessee Company," all the territory 
comprising the whole of North Alabama, out of which 
the following counties have since been formed: Lauder- 1795 
dale. Limestone, Madison, Jackson, DeKalb, Cherokee, Feb. 7 
Marshall, Morgan, Lawrence, Franklin, and the north- 
ern parts of Marion, Walker and Blount. 

The lands thus conveyed to the four Yazoo companies, for 
the gross sum of five hundred thousand dollars, contained 
twenty-one million five hundred thousand acres. A reserve of 
two millions of acres was made from this purchase for the ben- 
efit of the citizens who desired to become purchasers upon the 
original terms of sale. The four companies paid promptly into 
the treasury one-fifth of the purchase money, and obtained titles 
from the governor. During the progress of this bold measure 
the members of the Legislature were in the midst of the pro- 
foundest excitement, which extended to the "lobby members " 
and the whole community. 

The bill was signed by Thomas Napier, Speaker of the 
House; Benjamin Taliaferro, President of the Senate; and ap- 
proved by his Excellency, George Mathews, Governor. 

It was asserted that " bribery and corruption distinguished 
the proceedings of the members favorable to the Yazoo act." 
The public documents abound with affidavits, pro and con. It 
was asserted that members were bought up to vote for the meas- 
ure, by receiving in advance from the companies certificates of 
large shares of the land which they were about to vote to sell. 
The public became aroused upon the subject. 

A majority of the counties, through their grand juries, pro- 
nounced against the act. Public meetings assembled all over 



448 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Georgia, and the bitterest denunciations fell from the lips 

1795 of every speaker. A large convention was held at Louis- 
May 10 ville, where hundreds of petitions were read and evidence 

adduced setting forth "the atrocious peculation, corrup- 
tion and collusion by which said usurped acts and grants were 
obtained." Although the tide of public sentiment swept over the 
State in angry torrents, destroying the popularity of the mem- 
bers who voted for the act, and elevating to power its most vio- 
lent opponents, yet the four companies paid up the 
Nov. 1 whole of the purchase money, and believed themselves 

secure in their vast fortunes, because the bill stipulated 
that the acts of no subsequent legislature should affect their title. 
Washington was astounded at the Yazoo sale, and laid be- 
fore Congress copies of the bill, using this language in reference 

to it: "These acts embrace an object of great magni- 
Feb. 17 tude, and their consequences may deeply affect the peace 

and welfare of the United States." The two houses of 
Congress adopted a resolution instructing the Attorney-General 
to investigate the title of Georgia to the lands sold. 

The Legislature of Georgia again convened in the winter, 
with a new governor and a new body of members, except those 

who voted against the Yazoo sale. General James Jack- 
1795 son, a distinguished partisan officer of the revolution, 

was at the head of the new organization. He had can- 
vassed the State, and, from the hustings, denounced the extra- 
ordinary measure, while, with his able pen, he produced several 
severe pamphlets upon the subject. He introduced a bill for the 
repeal of the Yazoo sale, which declared it "null and void." It 
was adopted, and received the signatures of Jared Irwin, the new 

Governor, Thomas Stephens, Speaker of the House, and 

1796 Benjamin Taliaferro, President of the Senate. In the 
Feb. 12 midst of the largest procession ever known in the land, 

the records of the Yazoo act were expunged, and, to 



THE SECOND YAZOO SALE. 449 

show the indignation of its opponents, the bill itself was con- 
sumed, in the streets of Louisville, by fire from Heaven.* 

But, in the meantime, hundreds had emigrated to the Tom- 
bigby and the Mississippi, establishing themselves in those dis- 
tant and isolated regions, intending soon to occupy the lands 
which the companies had proposed to grant them. In this re- 
spect, the Yazoo sale was a great blessing. It contributed to 
throw into that wild region, a population of Georgians, whose 
activity, ability and enterprise better fitted them to seize, occupy 
and bring into cultivation a wilderness, mark out towns, people 
them, build female academies, erect churches and hold courts 
than any other people. 

By an arrangement between the President and the Georgia 
authorities, Benjamin Hawkins, of North Carolina, 
George Clymer, of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Pickens, 1796 
of South Carolina, repaired to Coleraine, upon the St. May 
Mary's river, where they met James Jackson, James 
Simms and James Henricks, agents for Georgia. The object was 
the formation of a treaty of peace with the Creeks, and the 
cession to Georgia of the lands between the Oconee and the 
Ockmulgee. A full delegation of Indians, consisting of twenty 
Kings and seventy-five Chiefs, together with three hundred and 
forty warriors, soon arrived. Seagrove, the Creek Agent, sug- 
gested the propriety of moving the council from Coleraine to 
Muscogee, a short distance off, which was accordingly done. 
There, the Chiefs, after marching under the United States flag, 
performing the eagle-tail dance, smoking with the commission- 
ers, and engaging in other ceremonious preparations, began the 
council. The first day was occupied with the speeches of the 
commissioners, who gave a full exposition of the views and 
wishes of the President. On the following day, General Jackson, 

* They held a sun-glass over the paper until it was consumed by the fire thus gen- 
erated. The Yazoo act may be seen, together with all the votes upon it, and an account 
of the excitement which it produced, in Public Lands, vol. 1, pp. 120-144. Indian Af- 
fairs, vol. 1, pp. 551-555-561. Georgia Digest of 1798, pp. 557-558. 

29 



450 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



on the part of Georgia, made a long speech, in which he pointed 
out the faithless observance of their treaties with his State by 
the Creeks, and exhibited two schedules of the property which 
they had stolen, amounting to the value of one hundred and ten 
thousand dollars, which he demanded to be restored. The In- 
dians listened with profound attention, and when he had con- 
cluded, they adjourned for the day — the Big Warrior, who had 
lately become a prominent Chief, facetiously remarking, " I can 
fill up more paper than Jackson has done, with a list of similar 
outrages of the Georgians upon my people." 

A treaty was concluded, between the Chiefs of the whole 

Creek nation and the Federal commissioners, the former 

1796 ratifying the New York treaty, and pledging themselves 

June 29 to carry out its provisions, and to assist Spain and the 

United States to run their line. They also stipulated to 
allow the government the right to establish posts upon the ter- 
ritory between the Ockmulgee and Oconee, allowing to each five 
miles square of land ; but they positively refused to cede any of 
this territory to Georgia. The United States stipulated to allow 
the Creek nation two blacksmiths and two strikers, with tools 
and iron, and to distribute immediately six thousand dollars' 
worth of goods among those who were present. 

The Georgia agents were offended with Seagrove, with the 
Indians, and with the Federal commissioners. They presented 

to the latter a protest, in which they accused them of 
June having disregarded the interests of Georgia. They 

brought charges against Seagrove, who, they contended, 
influenced the Creeks not to cede the lands as far as the Ock- 
mulgee. The Federal commissioners denied these allegations. 
Seagrove and Jackson became great enemies, and afterwards 
fought a duel.* 

Washington had despatched Thomas Pinckney, as Envoy 
Extraordinary, to Madrid, who there concluded, with the Prince 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 586-616. 



THE SECOND YAZOO SALE. 451 

of Peace, a treaty, in which the King of Spain stipulated that the 
southern boundary of the United States should be the 
line of 31°, from the Mississippi to the Chattahoochie, 1795 
thence down the middle of that river to its junction Oct. 27 
with the Flint, thence direct to the head of the St. 
Mary's river, thence down the middle of that stream to the At- 
lantic; that all Spanish posts and inhabitants, found north of 
this boundary, should be removed within six months after the 
ratification of the treaty, and the American posts and inhabitants 
living south of it, should also be removed within the same period ; 
that the navigation of the Mississippi, from its source to the 
Gulf, should remain free for the commerce of the subjects of 
Spain and the citizens of the American Union ; that both powers 
should cultivate peace with the Indians for mutual benefit and 
protection ; that, hereafter, Spain should not form treaties of 
alliance with Indians living upon American soil, nor the Federal 
Government with Indians living upon Spanish territory ; and 
that Spanish and American commissioners should mark the 
boundary, before the expiration of six months, after the ratifica- 
tion of the treaty.* 

Colonel Andrew Ellicott, who had remained upon the Oco- 
nee so long, to no purpose, awaiting a favorable opportunity 
to run the line according to the New York treaty, was now 
transferred by Washington to Natchez, as one of the com- 
missioners to mark the boundary between Spain and the 
United States. He reached Natchez, by way of the Ohio, and im- 
mediately commenced negotiations with Don Manuel 
Gayoso de Lamos, commandant of Fort Panmure, Gov- 1797 
ernor of the Natchez dependencies, and commissioner on Feb. 24 
the part ot Spain. But Carondelet had determined not 
to comply with the treaty, affecting to consider it made by his sov- 
ereign as a " court finesse" until he could settle his European 
difficulties, when he would wholly disregard it, and hold on to his 

* Foreign Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 553-559. 



I . ' 



>l '. «>l A I, A II AM A. 



po r. c.i.i. iii 1 1 1 « • i\ii i Ippl Ha again began to intrigue with 
i in- Wr i ii ii ,\ mil loan population for the dismemberment oi the 
Union, through his emissary, the notorious Powers General 
i. inn ■:, Wilkinson, then at the head of the Western Amerioan 
.11 in v , who had long i«-<'n the intimate friend <»i Oarondelet, and 
had reoelved from him private and exoluslve privileges oi trade, 
whioh were highly beneficial to him as a Western planter, was 
ii peoted oi seoretly advancing theseends Meanwhile Lieuten 

ant MoLeary, with an Amerioan foroe, unfurled the i ,, < , <i 
\i.u ifi <i. J ii. tg upon the heights oi Natohez, He soon aftei 

wards marohed to Fort Pann ■, and demanded i i k 

mder, agreeably to the treaty But Gayoso, who had placed 

It in oomplete repair, and had strengthened It with artillery and 
linn, refused toevaouate ii The Spanish posh; ;ii Wiiinui. i i i ii 
and Baton Rouge were all strengthened, by the order of Oaron 

delet An angry c ispondenoe ensued, in whioh Klliooll 

n- strated agalnsl thii oonduot, as -conflicting with the letter 

.mil spirit oi the treaty Gayoso justified himseli upon the 
ground H»-ii the Chootaws and Ohickasaws, whom he had hired 
i,o Km i niiiiii Niiiciic/ and make threats, intended i<> attaok the 
Natchez settlements, In oonsequenoe of the presenoeof the Amer 
loan troops. While these things were going on Lieutenant Percy 
Sin i iii Pope arrived ;>i Natohez with forty men, whioh were ;ni<ir<i 
to the Amerioan foroe Gayoso remonstrated against the pres 
• in i oi these troops, intrenched within sight oi Port Pan mure. 

Thei] Bag was an eye-sore to the Spaniards He desired 
1797 their removal to Hlarksville, but Bllioott refused Va 
\i.i\ rious reasons were given by the Spaniards i«»r not evac 

uatlng the oountry, one oJ whioh had some foundation, 
.mil that was the desoent upon New Orleans contemplated i>y 
Western Amerioan oitizens, who had joined the British oi Canada 
i,. i that purpose. One oi these men was Governor Blount, of 
Tenne ee, whom the United States Senate, of which he was a 
i in-iii i Hi, unanimously expelled for endeavoring to enlist Western 



i iik i < oni> \ \ BOO gj n I . 

men in iaofa ;"' enterprise. Colonel Kutohens, Mr. Rlpelge, and 
other prominent citizen* of the Florida*, It Is asserted, were alio 
oonoemed In the contemplated Invasion. But this loon blew over, 
and other exoutei for delay were Invented by Oarondelet and Ihh 
subordinate commandants. These bhingi served to irritate the 
Natchez population, which bad greatly Increased, and desired the 
expulsion <>i the Spaniards. Ellioott constantly urged Gayoso to 
begin the running of the line, but never could k^'- bim to appoint a 
time. The i>«'o|»i<- became tumultuous, and Gayoso, dreading the 
consequences oi ;"• outbreak, Issued ;i proclamation, announo 
in^ that the treaty would ultimately be complied with, They 
refused i<> listen t<> his promises, and the excitement became 
alarming, when It wae ascertained that Gayoso bad Imprisoned 
an American citizen, a Baptist preacher, named Hannah, who 
having taken too much whiskey, bad given the Hpanish com 
mandant some In suiting language The excitement wan {(real in 
the country. Public meetings advised violent measures. 
Gayoso. was greatly alarmed, and Issued another proc 1707 
lamation, exhorting the people to submit to the Span June I I 
Ish government until the difficulties could be settled, 
and promising pardon to all who should repent oi theii misdeeds! 
The Georgian i bad never bean accustomed to such languageas thl 
and their anger now knew no bounds. Gayoso skulked through 
the cane, and badan Interview with Ellioott, whose room ii«- ap 
p roach ed by the back way. By bis earnest entreaties, the Ansei 
lean commissioner urged the i><:opi<- to become quiet, and be 
greatly assisted by Colonel Hutohens, who bad much Influence 
with the old Bngll h population. He is the same gentleman, It 
wiii be recollected, whose property the Spaniards confiscated In 
I7mi, and who made Ihh escape, through the Creek nation, to 
( leorgia. 

in the midst of scenes like these, Ellioott wai kept in iu 
pense, until the 29tb March, when the Spanish fort was evac 
uated, and nil the Spanish troops sailed down the river 



I.'. I 



IIIHTOKY OF AI.AISAMA. 



I7!>w n<- then marched his * » w 1 1 troops, and corps of wood- 
Mar, 29 men and surveyors, to Tunica Bayou, and commenced 

Ins survey in ;i dense swamp, upon tin- eastern bank 
of the Mississippi, where the line of 81° strikes It. [na fewdsys 
in- was joined by Major Stephen Minor and Sir William Dunbar» 
commissioners on the part <>t Spain. 41 Gayoso was now Governor 
of Louisiana, and he visited Kllioott's camp, with his military 
i. mi. iiui approved of the work, as far as It bad progressed. 
Spain, as well as the United States, Furnished hoops to proteot 
the surveyors from attaoks of the Indians. These, with the 
pack horses, woodsmen and laborers, bad the appearance of an 
army. Tim eominiHHioners met with great difficulties, from thick 

swamps, creeks, marshes and rivers, all of which they 

I7!»s had to go through. The trees were well blazed along 

Nov. r.> the line, and a mound thrown up at the «n< i of every 

mile. They did not reaob Pearl river until the 19th 
November, There Ellioott Left the surveyors, and went down 
that stream In a oanoe i<> New Orleans. Arranging bis business 
with Gayoso, and purchasing a small vessel, <':inip equipage and 

supplies, be sailed to Mobile, and thence up the river of 
I7'.m> Mini name until be reaohed the oamp of the survey 
Mar. 17 ors. They bad passed entirely through the Oboe* 

taw nation without opposition from that people. 

The line of 8 1" si link Mobile river six miles below the 

junotlon of the Tombigby and Alabama, where sev- 
Apni'.' era! rivers run parallel, forming an immense swamp 

several miles wide, which was now Inundated. By 

means of boats, they erected signals upon the high Lands oi* either 

side, ami took the necessary Observation ami distances These 

signals consisted of flags and tremendous Light wood fires. Bill 
enii here again Left the surveyors, sailed i<> Pensaoola, and 
lodged at the elegant quarters provided by the hospitable Arm of 



■ m . . i . . - 1 1 . - . vol i.i'p m.:..i\ Htodrtart'i kotalu ol Loul I ana, p B9 Marbolt'Lo 
i i.i ii i . |>}>. L63-1U0 i 1 1 1 ... 1 1 »4 J M.ii , pp 26*176 kmerloan State Papers, Boston <•< 

Mi. ii, vi. I :i, p, 886. 



THB SECOND va/iih SALE. 166 

Panton, Leslie <& ('<>. Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, now a prom] 
iicni Greek Superintendent, Left the nation, by appointment, :> n< i 
reaching Pensaoola, Informed Ellioott thai a large number of 
Creeks were then on their way down, to hold b council. it was 
decided to meet them upon the Coneoub, where tin- line would 
cross. This w;is in opposition i" the suggestion of Governor 
ETolch, who proposed Pensaoola, where, it was supposed, be in- 
tended to Intrigue with the Creeks to prevent the line being 
run. [ndeed the Spaniards generally weir opposed to the sur- 
render of so muoh territory. At Miller's Bluff, ElliCOtt, M ; i v\ 
kins, Minor, and Colonel Maxant, with several Spanish officers, 
niei i he ( 'reeks. These agent s of the United States and Spain, 
addressing the Indians, urged them to assist in running the line, 
and not to oppose it, all of which they hud stipulated to do at 
the treaty of Coleraine. The Mad Dog, of Tookabatoha, replied, 
on the other side, and assured the commissioners that their 
wishes woidd he complied with, ;is they now understood that 

the lint; waS to he run through then- territory, by the eon: en! <,| 

Spain. The surveyors, to whose party were added two Chiefs 

and twenty Creek warriors, had reached t he < 'oneeiili, and hecjin 

the line from thence to the Chattahooohie. Returning to Penes' 
cola, Hawkins and Ellicotl learned, to their surprise, that s large 
body of Creeks were on their way, hy an arrangement ol Gov 
ernor Poloh, and that the survey would be stopped. Encamping 

three miles north of iVnsacola, these savages demanded pic cuts 
Of the American commissioner, which, from motives ot policy, 

were granted, although be bad no agency in assembling them. 

It was soon ascertained that, Polch was secretly Using every 
ertion to defeat the plans of the American govern meiil. ElliCOtt 

left Pensaoola, sailed tor the month of the Apalachicola, and 
ascended that river. Reaching the surveyor's camp, be ascei 
bained that the, Creeks had been very insolent, banging upon 

then- real- in Large hodies, and plundering their effects, (ileal ly 

discouraged by this news, he pushed the survey to the Cbatts 



DRAWING OF FORT MIMS, 

Found among Gen Claiborne's manuscript papers. 




REFERE 

1 Block House. 

2 Pickets cut away by the Indians. 

3 Guard's Station. 

4 Guard House. 

5 Western Gate, but not up. 

6 This Gate was shut, but a hole 

was cut through by the Indians. 
1 Captain Bailey's Station. 

8 Steadham's House 

9 Mrs. Dyer's House. 

10 Kitchen. 

11 Mims' House. 

12 Randon's House. 

13 Old Gate- way — open. 



NCES 

14 Ensign Chambliss' Tent. 

15 Ensign Gibbs'. 

16 Randon's. 

17 Captain Middleton's. 

18 Captain Jack's Station. 

19 Port-holes taken by Indians. 

20 21 Port-holes taken by Indians. 

22 Major Beasley's Cabin. 

23 Captain Jack's Company. 

24 Captain Middleton's Company. 

25 Where Major Beasley fell. 

26 Eastern Gate, where the In- 

dians entered. 



THE SECOND YAZOO SALE. 457 

hoochie, where he fortified himself. He sent a runner to the 
Ockmulgee, for Hawkins, who had left Pensacola. About this 
time, Captain Minor dismissed his military escort, dis- 
charged many of his laborers, according to the instruc- 1799 
tions of Gayoso, given in May, and became very impor- Aug. 25 
tunate to set out for the St. Mary's. In the meantime, 
Hawkins had arrived, and advised the continuance of the work. 
But a party of Indians advanced, and declared their intention to 
plunder the camps. Resolutely marching up to them, with the 
military, Hawkins kept them at bay until 10 o'clock at night, 
when they promised to remain at peace till morning. All that 
night, however, the woods rang with their riotous yells, while 
they threw down the beef-pens, and stole cattle and horses. They 
cut all the rigging of Ellicott's schooner, and robbed the master 
and crew, stripping them to their shirts. Fortunately, the cargo 
had been taken to the camp. The commissioners determined 
to retreat from Governor Folch's savage banditti. Captain 
Minor, who is believed to have been innocent of any participation 
in originating these hostilities, set out for the St. Mary's, 
attended by the American military escort, with the 
surveyors, who now ceased to work. Ellicott entered Sept. 18 
his naked schooner, and propelled her, in the best way 
he could, down the Apalachicola, having saved all his papers and 
astronomical apparatus. Nearly three years had expired since 
he landed at Natchez, and he had only been able to mark the 
line from the Mississippi to the Chattahoochie, in consequence of 
the duplicity, treachery and opposition of the Spaniards. But 
the chief object was accomplished — the establishment of the south- 
ern boundary of the present States of 3Iississippi and Alabama. 
Colonel Hawkins, abandoned by the whole expedition, fearlessly 
remained several days among the Indians endeavoring to recon- 
cile them. 

Approaching the sea, Ellicott found, wrecked upon Fox 
Point, a schooner of the British navy, commanded by Lieutenant 



458 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Wooldridge, among whose crew was the celebrated William Au- 
gustus Bowles. We left that gifted but bad man in 
Sept. '22 the prison of Madrid In 1792. Knowing his great in- 
fluence with the Creeks, the King of Spain often sent 
persons of his Court to the prison, with offers of military titles 
and pay if he would abandon his allegiance to the English inter- 
est, join that of Spain, return to the Floridas and contribute to 
strengthen the colonies with his warrior forces. But the proud 
and unyielding Bowles spurned these offers. The Court then 
confined him in elegant quarters, and surrounded him with ser- 
vants, sparkling wines and rich viands, with the hope of engag- 
ing his affections; but this treatment answering no purpose, he 
was threatened with transportation to the Island of Manilla, in 
the distant Pacific. Still unyielding, he was ironed and sent 
there in a vessel, where he remained until February, 1797. Mr 
was then despatched back to Spain, but on the way, hearing of 
the war between that power and England, he escaped at Ascen- 
sion Island, and reached Sierra Leone, where the English Gov- 
ernor gave him a passage to London.* Mr. Pitt and the Duke 
of Portland provided for his necessities in a munificent manner. 
He left England in the schooner in which he was now wrecked, 
with which he had for some time preyed upon the commerce of 
Panton and Spain in the Mexican Gulf. General Bowles ad- 
dressed Ellicott a polite note, inviting him to the wreck, where 
the latter repaired and was entertained with kindness. He and 
Bowles were of mutual assistance to each other — the one supply- 
ing the perishing crew with some American stores, and the other 
giving him charts and valuable directions in relation to the navi- 
gation around the Florida peninsula. Bowles had repeated con- 
versations with Ellicott, in which he avowed his hatred of the 
Americans and his hostility to Spain, and declared bis determi- 
nation to visit his vengeance upon the latter in incessant attacks 
upon the Florida posts at the head of the Creeks, whom he 
termed " My people." 

* Du Lac's Voyage dana les deaux Louisianes, pp. 4UG-470. 



THE SECOND YAZOO SALE. 459 



Ellicolt sailed from the wreck to St. Marks, where he 
Lodged in the house of the commandant, Captain Portell, 
and was agreeably entertained by his fascinating wife. 
Having repaired his schooner, he sailed around the penin- 1800 
sula, and went up the St. Mary's to the camp of the Feb. 26 
surveyors, where he found all had arrived safe, and 
where, in conjunction with Minor, he determined the point of the 
line of 31°, and there erected a large mound. Thus ended this 
protracted and disagreeable business.* 

* Kllicott's Journal, ]>j>. 180-278. Also liis Appendix, p. fc.'J. The Indians who broke up 
the survey belonged to the towns oi Tallase, upon the Tallapoosa, and Ul'aukt, upon the 
Cnal tahoochie. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Americans in Alabama and Mississippi. 

It has been seen that the Legislature of Georgia prompt- 
ly repealed the Yazoo act. Congress, with the consent of 
that State, organized a large portion of the domain, 
1798 which was conveyed under the Yazoo sale, into a terri- 
May 10 torial government, embracing the country between the 
Chattahoochie and Mississippi rivers, extending from 
the line of 31° to that of 32° 28'. This government was not to 
impair the rights of Georgia to the soil. 

John Adams, now President of the United States, conferred 
upon Winthrop Sargent the post of Governor of the "Mississippi 
Territory." John Steele was, at the same time, appointed Secre- 
tary, while Thomas Rodney, of Delaware, and John Tilton, of 
New Hampshire, were constituted Judges of the Superior 
1799 Court. Four months after the evacuation of the coun- 
April try by the Spaniards, these officers arrived at Natchez. 
They found the country in the occupation of the Fed- 
eral troops, under General Wilkinson. The Governor, whose 
powers were extensive, commenced the organization of his 
government. He decreed, by proclamation, the formation of 
the Natchez district into the counties of Adams and Picker- 
ing. He established County Courts, which were to be holden 
quarterly by Associate Justices. Six thousand inhabitants, in- 
cluding slaves, comprised the population, who lived upon the 
waters of Bayou Pierre, St. Catharine, Cole, Homochitto, and 
Buffalo creeks. There was also a settlement at the Walnut 
Hills, and one upon Big Black. It has been seen what kind of a 

4t;o 



THE AMERICANS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 461 

population lived upon the Tensaw- and Tombigby in 1792. It 
was now much increased, but was composed of the same kind of 
people. An advance towards civilization had, however, been 
made in that region by the establishment of a ferry by 
Hollinger, an Indian countryman, across the Tombigby, 1797 
and another by Samuel Mims to convey people over Oct. 
the Alabama. The route lay across Nannahubba Island, 
and in times of high water passengers were ferried from one river 
to the other, the distance of ten miles. Lieutenant Mc- 
Leary had marched across the country, from Natchez, 3 799 
and had taken possession of Fort St. Stephens, when May 5 
the Spanish garrison marched out and dropped down 
below Ellicott's line. 

This portion of the Mississippi territory was utterly de- 
fenceless, entirely isolated, and surrounded by Indian nations on 
the north, east and west, while the treacherous Spaniards were 
just below at Mobile. To protect it the Federal Government 
established a post upon the first bluff below the confluence of the 
Tombigby and Alabama. Captain Shauraberg, of the second reg- 
iment, marched from Natchez with two companies and 
built a stockade with one bastion, which was called July 
Fort Stoddart, and was situated on the site of the pres- 
sent arsenal landing of Mount Vernon. 

Governor Sargent issued another proclamation, defining the 
limits of Washington county, embracing the population 
upon the Tombigby and Alabama. Of all counties that 1800 
ever were established it was by far the most extensive June 4 
in territory. It extended to the Chattahoochie on the 
east and to Pearl river on the west, and was bounded on the 
south by the line of 31*, and on the north by that of 32°, 28'. 
Twenty counties in Alabama and twelve in Mississippi have since 
been formed out of the territory of the original county of Wash- 
ington. The people of the territory, becoming dissatisfied with the 
arbitrarv measures of the Governor, remonstrated with the Presi- 



462 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



dent. These things, together with a prodigious increase of 
population, induced Congress to establish a second grade of ter- 
ritorial government, which allowed a Legislature. Four repre- 
sentatives from Adams, four from Pickering, and one 
Dec. from Washington, convened at Natchez. The Governor 
held an unqualified veto power. 
General Wilkinson deserves to be remembered for many im- 
portant public services, among which were the treaties which he 
made with Indian tribes, and the military organization of new 
counties. He wrote with astonishing ease, and always expressed 
himself well. He was unquestionably a man of genius, as well as 
of much usefulness ; yet he had always been suspected of allowing 
personal considerations to control- much of his military and official 
conduct. However, now acting with great zeal and fidelity, he sta- 
tioned troops at different points on the line of demarkation, from 
Fort Adams, upon the Mississippi, to Pearl river, and caused, as we 
have seen, Fort Stoddart to be built. While his headquar- 
1801 ters were at Natchez, he made an advantageous treaty with 
Oct. 27 the Chickasaws, obtaining their consent, among other 
things, to the cutting of a road, to remain as a highway, 
extending from the Cumberland district to the American settle- 
ments of Natchez. He made another treaty with the 
Dec. 17 Choctaws for a road from Fort Adams to the Yazoo 
river. The old boundary between the British and Choc- 
taws was also confirmed by him and marked anew. He likewise 
repaired to the distant Oconee, and, near a fort named in honor 
of him, made a treaty with the Creeks, by which the latter, for 
valuable considerations, ceded to the United States all 
1802 the territory east of a line, to run from High Shoals, 
June 16 upon Apalache, thence down the Oconee to its junction 
with the Ockmulgee, and thence to Ellicott's mound, 
upon the St. Mary's. The fearless, wise and patriotic agents, 
Benjamin Hawkins and Andrew Pickens, were associated with 
General Wilkinson in all these treaties, and, with him, travelled 



THE AMERICANS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 467 

river to the head of the Muscle Shoals, where they disembarked 
at the house of Double- Head, a Cherokee Chief. Placing their 
effects upon the horses, which had been brought down by land 
from Knoxville, they departed on foot for the "Bigby settle- 
ments," about St. Stephen's, a great distance off, and to which 
not a solitary direct path led. After a fatiguing march, they 
reached the residence of Levi Colbert, a celebrated Chickasaw 
Chief, who gave them the necessary directions. Pursuing their 
journey, they came upon the Tombigby, at the Cotton Gin, which 
had not long before been erected by the Federal Government to 
encourage the Chickasaws in the cultivation of the great staple. 
Desiring to lessen the fatigues of the long and painful trip, 
the party constructed two canoes at this point, each forty feet in 
length, and very large, but of miserable workmanship, 
being executed with no other tools than axes and grub- 1802 
bing hoes. These they placed in the river, in parallel Jan. 
positions, five feet apart. They were connected by a 
platform made of cane, upon which were deposited the effects of 
the expedition, which were piled up high above the heads of the 
emigrants, who now sat down in long rows in the two canoes. 
A few of the men went by land with the horses towards St. Ste- 
phens, to make preparations for the arrival of the main party. 
This rude and singular craft, then quite common in savage re- 
gions, had proceeded but two miles down the rapid, crooked and 
swollen stream, when it struck with great force against a log, 
which extended half across the channel, and immediately disap- 
peared. The cane ligament which bound the Siamese canoes 
burst asunder, and every soul was washed deep under the waves. 
Those who rose again were presently seen struggling with the 
torrent, amid the wreck, now tossed about in the fury of the 
waters. Murrel rose, but in his arms was the lifeless body of a 
daughter. His wife also came to the surface, with a babe at her 
breast, both, happily, alive. Malone and others, swimming 
ashore, became active in assisting many of the party in reaching 



408 history OF A.LAB4 m \. 



limbs of trees by extending to them grapevines and canes. At 
length, all who survived huddled upon a small pieoeof land, sur- 
rounded by water. 

It was now night. The north wind swept over the gloomy 
swamp. The ducks, in their rapid flight, whizzed through the 
air. The wolves howled upon the prairies. The owls screamed 
and hooted upon the lofty trees. The mighty timber crashed as 
the angry currents passed by. Such were the unwelcome sounds 
that fell upon the ears of this miserable party. No succor came. 
No encouraging voice saluted them. Benumbed with cold, they 
hovered together to keep alive, shivering and knocking their agi- 
tated limbs against each other, while their wet apparel froze fast 
upon them. Being- without tire, they had noway to produce one. 
It was two miles back to the old camp, and the route lay over 
thick cane, water and small islands. A resolute' young* negro 
man volunteered to find it. He plunged into the low grounds, 
and, strangely, made his way to the camp. In the meantime, the 
helpless pioneers, despairing of his return, bewailed their condi- 
tion with deep moans and bitter lamentations. Beneath the 
shadows of one of the darkest nights ever known, they mourn- 
fully counted over the missing and the drowned. Two long 
hours passed away, when the cheerful halloo of the negro was 
heard afar oft*. It was answered by a united and sympathetic shout. 
All eyes were turned in the direction from which the sound 
came, and in the darkness was seen an indistinct light, which 
shone over the tops of the distant canes like a far-off Aurora 
Borealis. It was tire, and the noble negro had brought it from 
the old camp. At length he came, with a cracking, crashing 
noise, familiar only to the ears of those who have walked through 
the dense cane swamps of Alabama. 

Fires were kindled with dry cane, and around them sat the 
sufferers until the morning sun dispelled the horrid night. It 
was now ascertained that one white child and twenty-one negroes 
were entombed beneath the tide of the angry Tombigby. The 



THE a ukkioans IN ALABAM4 and MISSISSIPPI, £69 



survivors groped their way to the Cotton Gin, without provis- 
ions, without bate, without tools, without firearms, Without 

money, and with do clothes except those which drooped upon 
their limbs. They were friendless and alone In a savage country, 
far from their point of destination, and still farther from their 
native land. 

Who saved these people from starvation, and enabled them 
to reach Washington county, Alabama, after a journey of one 
hundred and twenty days from North Carolina? Not the [ndians, 
for one of them stole a negro from the brave Malone, for the re- 
turn of whom be had to give his watch. Those animals who 
cling to their unfortunate masters to the Jast moment, ami are 
never once guilty of the crime of ingratitude, who bunted rabbits, 
opossums and raccoons for their famished owners. They saved 
the lives of these people. 

Several years previous to this period two brothers from New 
England came to the Boat Yard, upon Lake Tensaw. Wjlliam 
Pierce pursued the business of weaving, a profitable employment 
in those days. Jfis brother John established the first 
American school In Alabama. There the high-blood 1799 
descendants of Lachlan McGillivray, the Taits, Weath- 
erfordfl and Durante the aristocratic Linders, the wealthy Mim 
and the children of many others, first learned to read. The pupils 
were strangely mixed In blood, and their color was of every hue. 

It was not long before these Yankee brothers engaged in mercan- 
tile pursuits. They established a cotton gin at the 

Boat Yard, the first in that part of the country. Six 180'^ 
months before this Abram Mordecai, an Indian trader, Oct. 

procuring the consent of the Creek Chiefs and the ap- 
probation of Col. Hawkins, had established a cotton gin at Weath- 
erford's race track, on the first cistern bluff below the junction 
of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. It was built by Lyons & iiarnett, 

of Georgia, who brought their tools, gin saws and other materials 

from that State on pack-horses. The same enterprising meehan- 



170 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Los also built bha one for the Pierces, and another at Mcintosh 
Bluff, upon the Tombigby. 

Abram Mordeoai was a queer fellow. He traded extensively 

with the Indians, exohanging his goods for pink root, hiokory- 

nut oil and peltries oi* all kinds. These be carried to New 

1802 Orleans and Mobile in boats, and to Pensacola and Au« 

gustaon pack-horses. The hiokory-nut oil was a, luxury 

with Frenoh and Spanish epicures, it was manufactured by 

the Indians in ;i, simple manner — by boiling the cracked nuts in 

water, and skimming off the < > i l as it floated on the surface. 
Mordeoai bought cotton of the Indians in small quantities, 
ginned it, and oarried it to Augusta <>n pack-horses, in bags 

much smaller than those of the present day. He was a dark- 
eyed Jew, and amorous in his disposition. Touiculla, (Captain 

Isaacs,) the Chief of the Coosawdas, hearing of his intrigues with 
a married squaw, approaohed his house with twelve warriors, 

knocked him down, thrashed him with poles until he lay insen- 
sible, call, oil* his ear, and left him to the care of his wife. They 

also broke up his boat, and burned down his gin-house. A pretty 

Bquaw was the cause of the destruction of the flrst OOttOD gin in 

Alabama.* 

General Bowles, quitting the island where Ellioott found 

him, boldly advanced into the Creek nation, disturbed the mild 

and beneficial influence which Hawkins had began to engender, 

declared his eternal hostility to Spain and the United States, 
and beoame an object of dread to all quiet minds, and a, (error to 

all Interests against which he acted. Among other out- 

1808 rages, lie headed a party of Indians, advanced upon St. 
Marks, captured the fort, and plundered the store oi* 

Pan ton, Leslie a Co. Hawkins united with the Spanish au- 
thorities in a scheme to rid the country of a common enemy. A 
lar^e secret reward was offered for his capture. A great feast 

» Conversations with Laohlan Durant, James Moore, Abram Mordeoai, and many 
oi ber old t raders. 



THE A Ml-. KM ANS I.V ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 471 

wns given by the Indians at the town of Tuskegee. where the 
old French Fort Toulouse stood, tr> which Howies and the Micca- 
soochy Chiefs were invited. They attended, and during the feast 
the unsuspecting freebooter was suddenly seized by concealed 
Indians, who sprang upon him, securely pinioned him and placed 
him in a canoe full of armed warriors. They then rapidly rowed 
down the river. Hawkins and John Forbes, of Pensaeola, were 
in the town, but were concealed, until Sam McNac, a half-breed, 
bad caused Bowles to be made a prisoner. Arriving at a point 
in the present Dallas county, the canoe was tied up, the prisoner 
conducted upon the bank, and a guard set over him. In the 
night the guard fell asleep, when Howies gnawed his ropes apart, 
crept down the bank, got into the canoe, quietly paddled across 
the river, entered a thick cane swamp,and fled. At the 
break: of day, the astonished Indians arose in great con- 1 X0-> 
fusion, but fortunately saw the canoe on the opposite 
side, which Howies had foolishly neglected to shove off. Swim- 
ming over to that point, they got upon his track, and by the 
middle of the day once more made him a prisoner. He was con- 
veyed to Mobile, and from thence to Havana, where, after a few 
years, he died in the dungeons of Moro Castle.* 

While the inhabitants of the eastern section were disturbed 
by Howies, a notorious robber, named Mason, was a terror to 
the people of the western part of the Mississippi Territory. 
During the occupancy of the country by the Spaniards, the 
lair of this remorseless human tiger was in a cave upon the 
Ohio, where he secreted his banditti, and the booty which he had 
acquired in a long and bloody havoc upon the public. He 
had now stationed himself upon the highway between New 
Orleans and Natchez, with his two sons and their desperate asso- 
ciates. The Western people boated their produce down the Mis- 
sissippi, sold it in New Orleans, purchased horses, and returned 

* ( onversations with old traders, who were present when Howies was captured. See 
also Indian AfFairts vol. 1. 



172 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



by this route to Natchez, and from thence to Nashville, laden 
with woods and money. This, therefore, offered the most exten- 
sive theatre I'm - the operations oi* Mason and his banditti. Hence 

his sanguinary outrages were perpetrated oik- day in the Chick- 
asaw nation and the next upon Pear] river. At Length tin; people 
in all parts of the country were aroused by his inhuman murders, 

and every hand was raised against him. Governor Claiborne 
deolared him an outlaw, and offered a large reward for his head. 
The proclamation was widely distributed, and fell into the hands 

ol* Mason; and while he was reading it with a smile of scorn and 

contempt, a blow from behind Celled him to tin; earth. His suns 

were OUt upon an expedition, and he was alone with 

1808 two of his men, who, tempted by the reward, now out off 

his head and bore it to Washington to Governor Clai- 
borne. Fortunately, <>n account, of a, temporary lack of funds in 

the treasury, fin; reward was not paid. In the meantime, hundreds 
[looked to the governor's (punters to see the bead of Mason, and 
it was recognized by many who had seen him. Among others 
went two young men, whose respectable father Mason and his 
gang had waylaid and robbed while they were with him. They 

Immediately recognized his two associates, who brought in tin; 
bead. These men were thrown into prison, condemned and 

bung, and the reward was thus saved to the territory, while 
Mason was also out of the way.* 

Down to this period, no Protestant preaeher had ever raised 

his voice to remind the Tombigby and Tensaw settlers of their 

duly to the Most Mich. Hundreds, born and bred in the wild- 
erness, and now adult men and women, had never even 
I SO.'! seen a preacher. The mysterious and eccentric Lorenzo 
April Dow, one day suddenly appeared at the Boat Yard. He 

oame from Georgia, across the Greek nation, encounter- 
ing its dangers, almost alone. He proclaimed the truths of the 



♦ Monette, vol.2, pp.851 858. Conversations with aged persons In Washington oouu 
i j \ labatna. 



THE AMERICANS in \i,\i;a.ma and MISSISSIPPI. 17)1 



gospel here, to a large audience, erossed over the Alabama, and 
preached two sermons to the "Bigby settlers," and went from 
thence to the Natchez settlements, where he ;ilso exhorted the 
people to "turn from the error of their ways." Be then 
vtsited the Cumberland region and Kentucky, and came 1804 
back to the Tombigby, filling his appointments to the Deo. 27 
very day. Again plunging into the Creek nation, this 

holy man of God oiiee more appeared among the people of 

Georgia.* 

As early as the summer of L799, the Rev. Tobias (iihson, a 
Methodist missionary from South Carolina, visited the Natchez, 

settlements, i>y way of the Cumberland and Ohio— organized re 

ligioUS societies in Washington and its vicinity, and then de- 
parted fr the wilderness. In the fall of isoo, he again ap- 
peared, now as a missionary from the Tennessee Conference, and 

formed societies from I'.ayou IMerre to the Spanish line, number- 
ing, collectively, two hundred church members. After perform- 
ing the most arduous Labor in the cause of our Divine Master, Cor 
three years, in this rude and savage land, he died. The Kev. Mi'. 
Brown, another Methodist missionary, came from Tennessee irj 
1802, and brought with him to the Natchez country, a mind 

stored with a knowledge of science, and a heart fervent with 
piety. lie labored in Natchez until 1807. Montgomery and 
Hall, two reverend gentlemen of the Presbyterian order, also 

preached in Natchez for several years. The Baptists, too, sent a, 
'* laborer into the vineyard," in the person of the Kev. David 

Cooper, who arrived in 1 s<>2. Dr. Cloud, of fin; Episcopal 
Church, was also sent to " proclaim the glad tidings." The ef- 
forts of these various sects were highly salutary, serving to 
SOften and refine the people, and to banish much sin and vice 

from the worst region that ministers ever entered.! 

Congress established regulations respecting the English, 

• Lorenzo Dow 1 * complete worke," pp. t«; 101 . 

U.mittc, vol. '2, |»p :55'1 



474 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Spanish and Georgia grants. Many of the inhabitants 

1803 claimed extensive tracts of land under them. A land 
Mar. 3 office was established at the town of Washington, and a 

board of commissioners formed, composed of Thomas 
Kodney and Robert Williams, who proceeded to consider all 
claims arising under these grants, in a district extend- 
July 9 ing from Pearl river to the Mississippi. They contin- 
ued in office until the 3d July, 1807, having recorded two 
thousand and ninety claims. Their acts were sanctioned by the 
President. Another board of commissioners, consisting of Joseph 
Chambers, Epham Kirby and Robert Carter Nicholas. 

1804 was formed at St. Stephens, upon the Tombigby, whose 
Feb. 2 district extended from Pearl river eastward. They ad- 
journed on the 21st December, 1805, having admitted to 

record two hundred and seventy six claims, which the President 
likewise ratified. The inhabitants living upon public lands about 
the time of Ellicott's survey, were afterwards allowed by the 
government a section of land ; and those who came just before 
the board of commissioners was established, received a quarter 

section. Isaac Briggs was surveyor-general. The Ter- 
Mar. 27 ritorial government was made to extend to the southern 

boundary of the State of Tennessee ; but the extinguish- 
ment of the Indian title had been obtained to no portion, except 
a strip seventy miles long, above and below Natchez, and ex- 
tending back twenty miles, and the small district upon the Tom- 
bigby. The balance of the territory was occupied by the Creeks, 
Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws. 

Col. James Caller, of North Carolina, was one of the first 
representatives to the Legislative Council, from the county of 
Washington, Alabama. The first County Court of this county 
was held at Mcintosh Bluff, where John Caller, Cornelius Rain 
and John Johnson, presided with great frontier dignity. These 
justices had no code before them, and coming from different 
States, decided cases according to the laws of their native land, 



THE AMERICANS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 475 

so that the most amusing differences of opinion often prevailed. 
This was the case all over the territory ; but the Justices from 
Georgia holding the laws of South Carolina, North Carolina, 
Virginia, and the whole of New England in great contempt, con- 
tended that the practice in the State from which they came, was 
alone correct. With their usual success, they generally managed 
to carry their points. 



CHAPTER XXXII . 

Governor Troup, or the McIntosh Family — Incidents in the 

Mississippi Territory. 

At the close of our last chapter it was stated that the first 
American court held in Alabama was at Mcintosh Bluff, which 
is situated upon the western bank of the Tombigby, between its 
confluence with the Alabama and the town of St. Stephens. 
Connected with this bluff, there is, to us, a pleasing historical 
reminiscence. Alabama has the honor of being the birth- 
place of George M. Troup, late Governor of Georgia, and who 
is one of the most vigorous and expressive political and epis- 
tolary writers of the age. His grandfather, Captain John Mc- 
intosh, the Chief of the Mcintosh clan, was long attached to 
the army of West Florida, and his valuable services were re- 
warded by the King of England, with the grant of Mcintosh 
Bluff, and extensive tracts of land upon the Mississippi. He 
had a son, who was also a British officer, and a daughter, a 
native of Georgia. The latter, while on a visit to England, 
married an officer of the royal army, named Troup. She 
sailed from England to Mobile, and, arriving at the latter 
place, entered a barge, and went up the Tombigby river to 
the residence of her father at Mcintosh Bluff, where, in the wilds 
of Alabama, Governor Troup was born in September, 1780. She 
had an uncle, named Roderick Mcintosh, or " Old Rory," as he 
was familiarly called, a most extraordinary character, a kind of 
Don Quixote, old Arab Chief, Scottish and Irish Chieftain, the 
Saladin and Coeur de Leon of chivalry. He was long an officer 
of his Majesty's army in Georgia and East Florida. Thus the 

476 



INCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 477 



father, brother, uncle and husband of this lady, the mother of 
George M. Troup, were all British officers before the commence- 
ment of the revolution. Being removed from the scenes of that 
revolution, none of them may be said to have taken sides against 
it, except " Old Rory," who during the war was frequently in 
Georgia and East Florida, and, although far advanced in years, 
was at all tini3s ready to storm any whig fortress that might 
present itself. Before he came to America he had been the cham- 
pion of his native glen in Scotland, and was strongly attached to 
the Stuart family. In 1777 he was over sixty-five years ot age. 
He was tall; his form was admirably proportioned for strength 
and activity. His complexion was ruddy, and his hair was white, 
frizzled and bushy. In walking, or rather striding, his step ordi- 
narily embraced the space of four feet. He was not rich, but 
lived in ease and comfort, when not engaged in the actual service 
of the King. He cared nothing for money. During the Spanish 
occupation of East Florida he sold a drove of cattle in St. Augus- 
tine, and receiving payment in specie, placed it in a bag on his 
horse and rode towards home. On the route the canvas gave 
way, and many of the dollars fell upon the path. He secured 
those which were left and pursued his journey, giving himself no 
concern about those upon the ground.- Some years afterwards, 
being in want of money, he recollected his loss, went to the place, 
picked up as many dollars as he wanted and returned home. He 
was fond of dogs. He once laid a considerable bet that he could 
hide a doubloon, at three miles distance, and that his setter, which 
he had taught to take his back track, would find it. Luath 
presently went off on his trail, was gone some time, and returned 
panting, with his tongue out, but came without the doubloon. 
" Treason /" vociferated "Rory," and he walked rapidly to the 
place where he had hidden the money. He turned over the log, 
and found that Luath had torn up the earth in search of it. A 
man was seen some distance off engaged in the splitting of rails. 
Without ceremony « Rory " drew his dirk, advanced upon him, 



478 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



and swore he would put him to death if he did not give up the 
doubloon. The man, very much alarmed, immediately handed 
him the coin, observing that, having seen Mcintosh put some- 
thing under the log, he had gone to the place and found the gold. 
" Rory," tossing him back the money, said, " Take it, vile caitiff ; 
it was not the pelf, but the honor of my dog, I cared for." 

In 1778 a portion of the garrison of St. Augustine, under 
General Provost, marched by land to join a force from New 
York to attack Savannah, then in the occupation of the 
whigs. "Rory" was a captain of light infantry upon this 
expedition. On the march they passed near a small whig 
fort, commanded by Captain, afterwards Colonel John Mcintosh. 
Early one morning, when " Rory " had made rather free with the 
morning glass, he insisted on sallying out to summon the fort to 
surrender. His friends were unable to restrain him, and he pres- 
ently advanced, with claymore in hand, followed by his faithful 
negro, Jim. Approaching the gate of the fort, he said, in an 
audible and commanding tone, " Surrender, you miscreants ! 
How dare you presume to resist his majesty's arms ! " Captain 
Mcintosh knew him, and, forbidding any of his men to fire, 
threw open the gate, and said, "Walk in, cousin, and tttke pos- 
session." " No," said Rory, with great indignation, " I will not 
trust myself with such vermin, but I order you to surrender." 
A rifle was fired at him, the ball of which passed through his 
face. He fell, but immediately recovered. He retreated back- 
wards, flourishing his sword. His servant, seeing his face cov- 
ered with blood, and hearing the shot falling around him, im- 
plored his master to face about and run for his life. He replied, 
" Run yourself, poor slave, but I am of a race that never runs." 
In this manner, he backed safely into the lines, flourishing his 
sword in defiance, and keeping his face to the enemy. 

Upon a certain occasion, " Rory " rode from St. Augustine 
to Savannah, and applied to his friend, Couper, for money to de- 
fray his expenses from that place to Charleston. Couper saw 



IXCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 479 

that something of an extraordinary character agitated him, and 
with difficulty learned the cause of his excitement. " That rep- 
tile in Charleston, Gadsden, has insulted my country, and I will 
put him to death." " What has he done? " said Couper. " Why," 
said Rory, " on being asked how he meant to fill up his wharf, in 
Charleston, he replied, 'By importing Scotchmen, who were fi 
for nothing better.'" With great difficulty the friends of Rory 
prevailed on him to return home. 

It would be an endless task to enumerate all the anecdotes 
in our possession in relation to this remarkable Highlander, the 
grand-uncle of Governor Troup. He was often in the Creek na- 
tion, and was the father of Colonel William Mcintosh, a half- 
breed Muscogee, of high character, whom the Upper Creeks 
killed for his friendship to the Georgians. "Rory" always 
dressed in the Highland costume. He was perfectly fearless in 
spirit, while his broadsword, wielded by one of the most power- 
ful arms, caused streams of human blood to flow in many des- 
perate engagements. Although engaged in the rebellion of '45, 
King George was nevertheless much attached to him, and "Rory" 
was ready to die for that monarch at any moment. 

There was another branch of the Mcintosh family — all, 
however, close connections of Governor Troup, by consanguin- 
ity — who were conspicuous whigs in the revolution, citizens 
of Georgia, and men who occupied high ranks in the army. 
One of these was General Lachlan Mcintosh, who came out 
to Georgia with Oglethorpe, when a little boy, and the other, 
Colonel John Mcintosh, who also fought for liberty through- 
out the war. In later times, Colonel John S. Mcintosh, one 
of the same family, became a distinguished American officer, 
was in the wars of 1813 and 1814, and recently, in the Mexi- 
can war, was wounded at Resaca de la Palma, and after- 
wards at Molino del Rey, and died in the city of Mexico. The 
Mcintosh family was composed of people of marked character, all 
whom were born to command. The blood always exhibited itself, 



480 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



even when mixed with that of the Indian. After the revolution, 
the father of Governor Troup established himself in Georgia, 
became an American citizen, and was much esteemed and re- 
spected to the day of his death. His body is interred at Belleville, 
Mcintosh county, and that of his wife in the family vault of 
General Lachlan Mcintosh at Savannah .* 

Napoleon Bonaparte had turned his eagle eye to the 
1801 rich province of Louisiana, and it was ceded by Spain to 
Mar. 21 France. He contemplated its occupation, with a large 
army, and probably entertained designs of conquest 
against portions of the United States ; but, becoming deeply in- 
volved in wars with the whole of Europe, he reluctantly 

1803 relinquished these intentions, and ceded Louisiana to 
April 30 the United States for sixty millions of francs. Governor 

Claiborne, with a large number of emigrants, who had 
already flocked to Natchez from all parts of the Union for the 

purpose of occupying Louisiana, sailed down the Missis- 
Dec. 20 sippi, with Wilkinson and his forces, and took formal 

possession of the city of New Orleans, in behalf of the 
United States. He had been appointed the Governor of the 
Louisiana Territory. He left the people of the Mississippi Ter- 
ritory duly impressed with a deep sense of obligation for his 
valuable public services. Cato West, the Territorial Secretary, 
discharged the executive duties until his successor arrived. 

The distance of Natchez from the Tombigby was so great 

that Congress authorized the President to appoint an 

1804 additional Superior Court Judge for the benefit of the 
Mar. 27 people settled upon that river. The Hon. Harry Toul- 

min was selected. He was born at Taunton, in England, 
the 7th April, 1766, and descended from a learned and respectable 
family. He became a pastor of the Unitarian church, at Chow- 
bert, in Lancashire, in 1788, where he occupied a prominent 
position, officiating before a congregation of a thousand hearers. 

* MS. notes in my possession. 



INCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 481 

Becoming an object of suspicion to the government, it determined 
to silence not only his efforts, but those of every other person who 
indulged in an independent expression of opinion. Frequently 
threatened with personal injury, and often surrounded by mobs, 
who extended their violence to his private residence, as well as his 
church, Mr. Toulmin determined to seek a land where all religious 
opinions are tolerated. Landing at Norfolk, Virginia, he pro- 
ceeded to Winchester, where he had the misfortune to lose two 
of his children. The year following, he became the President of 
Transylvania University, of Lexington, the duties of which he 
discharged for four years. He was then Secretary of State of 
Kentucky for the long period of eight years, and wrote most 
of the public documents of that day. Having pursued the study 
of law and attained great proficiency in it, he compiled a 
code of laws for Kentucky in the most satisfactory manner. A 
fine writer, an excellent scholar, an amiable man, and a delightful 
fireside companion, Judge Toulmin won upon the hearts of his. 
friends and engaged the confidence of the public. He came to 
Alabama by way of New Orleans, settled at a cantonment near 
Fort Stoddart, and afterwards removed to the court house, which 
he called Wakefield, in memory of Goldsmith's good vicar. Hm A 
first court was held in the fall of 1804, he having been diligently 
engaged for several months previous in arranging the judicial 
department of Washington county. There was no newspaper 
here, and Thomas Malone, the clerk, advertised libels against 
boats for smuggling in a New Orleans paper, published by Brad- 
ford & Anderson. 

Fort Stoddart was now a prominent post. Captain Shaum- 
berg retired from the command, which was assumed by Captain 
Schuyler, of New York, who had the command of eighty 
men. Lieutenant Reuben Chamberlain, now of Mobile, 1804 
arrived at this station in June, as paymaster. Edmund Fall 
Pendleton Gaines was then a lieutenant under Captain 



31 



4S2 HISTOKY OF ALABAMA. 



Sohuyler. Here the Court of Admiralty was held, for it was a 
port of entry.* 

Robert Williams, of North Carolina, appointed to succeed 
Governor Claiborne, arrived at the town of Washington, Missis- 
sippi, and partook of a public dinner, at which the Hon- 
1805 orable Thomas Rodney presided. His staff consisted of 
Jan. 26 William Scott, William B. Shields, William Woolridge 
and John C. Carmichael, the first with the rank of 
colonel and the others with that of major. 

Congress having constituted the country upon the Tombigby 
a revenue district, known as the " District of Mobile," the most 
vigilant and annoying system of searches commenced. The 
people, with just cause, considered it an unnecessary restriction 
upon a weak and defenceless territory. Not only did Spain 
exact heavy duties at the port of Mobile upon American mer- 
chandise destined for the American settlements above, but the 
Federal Government, which ought rather to have fostered and 
protected her wilderness children, also exacted duties from them 
-at Fort Stoddart. These arbitrary revenue laws of Spain and 
the United States were applied with equal severity also to what- 
ever the persecuted settlers of Alabama chose to export, so that a 
Tombigby planter, sending his produce to New Orleans by way 
•of Mobile, and exchanging it there for goods and supplies, paid, 
by the time he reached home, an ad valorem duty of twenty-five 
per cent. Vessels were required to pass under the guns of Fort 
Charlotte, and to submit to insult and search. The Spaniards 
valued the goods themselves, and imposed a duty of 
1805 twelve and a half per cent. The Federal Government 
remonstrated with Spain, in an extensive correspond- 
ence, but, we think, with a very ill grace, while restrictions were 
imposed by herself upon her own people at the port of Fort 
Stoddart. 

* I have consulted some biographical notices of the life and character of Judge Toul- 
tnin— Conversations with Major Reuben Chamberlain, of Mobile, and Thomas Malone. 



INCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITOIiY. 483 

When the line of demarcation was established by Elli- 
cott and the Spanish commissioners, those inhabitants, chiefly 
Spaniards, old British subjects and tories — living in the Natchez 
district, retired below the line, within Spanish jurisdiction, as 
the reader has already seen. Notwithstanding that General 
Wilkinson then entered into a convention with the Governor of 
Louisiana, for the mutual surrender of deserters, and both sides 
adopted wise measures to prevent border disturbances, yet much 
prejudice and ill-feeling continued to exist between the American 
settlers and Spaniards. No serious outbreaks, however, occurred 
until after Louisiana was surrendered to the United States. A 
controversy then arose, in relation to a strip of country lying be- 
tween the line of 31° on the north, the Bayou Iberville on the 
south, the Mississippi on the west, and Pearl river on the east. 
This had been organized by the Spaniards, into a district, called 
the "Government of Baton Rouge," and placed under the control 
of Don Carlos de Grandpre. It comprised the posts of Baton 
Rouge, Manchac, Thompson's Creek, and Bayou Sara. A con- 
troversy also arose in relation to the country bounded by the 
Perdido on the east, Pearl river on the west, the line of 31° on 
the north, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south, Avhich was the 
Spanish " Mobile district." The Ignited States contended that 
these two districts should have been surrendered at the same 
time that the island of New Orleans and the country west of the 
Mississippi were given up; that Bonaparte, in his treaty with 
Spain, acquired the whole of the Louisiana which belonged to 
France before 1762; that, when subsequently he ceded Louisiana 
to the L T nited States, he ceded all which he had acquired from 
Spain, and, of course, the Baton Rouge and Mobile districts were 
included, for they once belonged to French Louisiana. Spain 
met these arguments by assuming the positions, that, just before 
the close of the American revolution, she became herself engaged 
in a war with England ; that she took from Great Britain, by 
conquest, the Baton Rouge district, and that of Mobile, which 



484 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



was then a part of West Florida; that, in 1783, Great Britain 
confirmed these to her by treaty ; that, since then, she (Spain) had 
always considered these districts as a part of Spanish West 
Florida; that Bonaparte only ceded to the United States Louis- 
iana, not embracing, of course, the Baton Rouge and Mobile 
districts. 

The people of the Mississippi Territory, believing that the 
American government was right in the controversy, were impa- 
tient to occupy the rich lands in the Baton Rouge district, and 
were loud and open in their denunciations of the Spaniards. Bor- 
der troubles commenced. Lieutenant John Glasscock, a 
1805 subject of Spain, placed himself at the head of twelve 
Aug. 12 Spanish light-horse, crossed over the line two miles into 
the Mississippi territory, seized William Flannagin and 
his wife, and forcibly carried them fifteen miles, into Spanish 
territory. Here, finding that they were not the persons whom 
the authorities wanted, he turned them loose, to make their 
way back on foot, having retained their horse. This first 
open violation of American rights was followed by one more 
serious. Many citizens of the LTnion had settled already in 
the Baton Rouge district, while others lived near the line, 
ready to enter it when a suitable opportunity offered. Among 
the most conspicuous of the latter class were Nathan, Reu- 
ben and Samuel Kemper, sons of a Baptist preacher, who 
emigrated from Loudon, Virginia, to Ohio. They came to the 
Mississippi Territory in 1803, and established themselves at and 
near Pinckneyville, within a few miles of the Spanish line. Men 
of strong frontier sense, with a pleasing appearance and fine ad- 
dress, the Kempers were well suited to the times and were 
dreaded by the Spaniards. They had acquired lands in the 
Baton Rouge district, under Spanish grants, which they knew 
would enrich them could the country once be occupied by Ameri- 
cans. Beginning to exert their influence, with an end to the ex- 
pulsion of the Spaniards, Governor Grandpre determined to seize 



INCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 485 

and imprison them. He despatched a company of kid- 
nappers to the house of Nathan Kemper. They arrived 1805 
there at 12 o'clock at night. They were Lewis Ritchie, Sept. 3 
Minor Butler, Abraham Horton, James Horton, Dr. 

Bomer, Henry Flowers, Jr., and McDermot, who were in 

disguise, and were citizens of the Mississippi Territory, but ac- 
complices in the schemes of Grandpre, Seven negroes were also 
in company with them. The party were armed with guns and 
clubs, and provided with ropes. They forced the door, entered 
the room in which Reuben Kemper was sleeping, dragged him 
from his bed, beat him with clubs, and then tied him. Some of 
them at the same time dragged Nathan Kemper from the bed, in 
which he was sleeping with his wife, who received some blows 
from their clubs in the scuffle, one of the kidnappers crying out, 
" If she utters another word I will kill her! " 

Nathan was also severely beaten and well secured with cords. 
The brothers begged to know what they had done. A voice 
answered, "You have ruined the Spanish country!" The party 
gagged them by placing large sassafras roots in their mouths. 
Then tying a line around their necks they were made to run be- 
fore the horses of the kidnappers, and were conducted to the 
Spanish line. At the same time a branch of this party had entered 
the tavern of Samuel Kemper at Pinckneyville, the proprietor of 
which they seized, beat with clubs, gagged and pinioned. In 
running along by the side of a horseman, this prisoner, 
unable to keep up, fell to the earth, and was cruelly 1805 
dragged an hundred yards by a rope around his neck. Sept. 3 
He, too, was conducted to the Spanish line, where all 
three of the unhappy brothers were delivered to Captain Solomon 
Alston, who conveyed them with a guard to the Tunica Land- 
ing, where they were placed in a boat, also guarded, which was 
ordered to transport them to Baton Rouge. In the meantime a 
Dr. Towles, who had been visiting a patient, hearing of the out- 
rage early in the morning, galloped his horse to Point Coupee, 



486 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

informed Lieutenant Wilson, the commandant at that place, who, 
with a file of soldiers, rescued the Kempers and captured the 
Spanish guard. They were all sent to the town of Washington, 
and the affair was legally investigated by Judge Rodney, and 
the parties were discharged. It, however, created much excite- 
ment, and Governor Williams formed a strong patrol, com- 
posed of two companies, at the head of which was Colonel 
John Ellis. After some sharp correspondence between the 
governor and Colonel Grandpre, the people became quiet, and 
border troubles ceased for a while. However, this shameful 
treatment of American citizens produced some excitement in 
Washington city, and John Randolph, of the committee of foreign 
relations, reported a bill for the raising an army to repel and 
punish Spanish aggressors. But the friends of Jefferson's admin- 
istration refused to adopt it.* 

Nothing but an Indian trail led from the Oconee to the Ala- 
bama river at Lake Tensaw. The houses of accommodation were 
few, kept by Indians and half-breeds, and were of the most in- 
different kind. None of the rivers were provided with 
1805 ferry-boats, nor were the creeks bridged. The Federal 
Nov. 14 Government, desiring to open a better avenue to the new 
country, obtained from a delegation of thirty Creek 
Chiefs and warriors, then at Washington city, the right of using 
a horse-path through their country, along which the Chiefs agreed 
to establish ferries and bridges, and to open good houses 
Oct. 7 of accommodation. The Cherokees, at Tellico Block- 
house, granted the right for a mail route from Knoxville 
to New Orleans by way of the Tombigby. The United States 
also acquired more territory from the Chickasaws, who 
July 23 ceded about three hundred and fifty thousand acres, 
lying in the bend of the Tennessee, a very small portion 
of which, in the shape of a triangle, fell into Alabama and was 

* American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 5, pp. 103-124. Also historical MS. notes 
in the possession of E. T. Wood, of Mobile. 



INCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 487 



afterwards formed into the county of Madison. At 
Mount Dexter, the Choctaws ceded to the government Nov. 16 
five millions of acres, commencing at the Cut-Off, at a 
point half way between the Alabama and Tombigby, running 
north to the Choctaw corner, west to Fulluctabuna Old Fields, 
thence across the Tombigby to the Mississippi settlements, thence 
south to Ellicott's line, and east along that line back to the 
Cut-Off* 

Thus the whole southern portion of the present State of 
Mississippi was thrown open to the Americans. The new pur- 
chase was soon formed into three counties — Marion, Wayne and 
Greene. A population from Georgia and Tennessee poured into 
the magnificent forest north of the Tennessee, about " Hunt's 
Spring," which had been obtained from the Chickasaws 5 as just 
mentioned. The population of the Mississippi Territory had 
much increased, Natchez had become a large town, where boats 
going down and up the great river landed and traded, while the 
crews engaged in fights, drunkenness, gambling, and all kinds of 
debaucheries. It was the greatest thoroughfare in the whole 
forest world, and was decidedly a most abandoned place. 

The subject of education was not neglected, and Jefferson 
College had been established at Ellicott's Spring, in the vicinity 
of the town of Washington. Many improvements, in the way of 
houses, farms and new towns, gave the territory an air of civili- 
zation. 



* Indian Affairs and Land Laws. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The ARREST of Aaron Burr in Alaisama. 

Aaron Burr — a descendant of learned ancestry, a native of 
New Jersey, a graduate of Princeton, a whig colonel of the Rev- 
olution, a lawyer of ability, a leading member of the New York 
Legislature, a State's Attorney-General, a Senator of the United 
States, a Vice-President of the Union — at length found 

1804 himself Dominated by the republican party of New 
July 11 York as a candidate for the office of Governor of that 

State. Among his most formidable enemies was Alex- 
ander Hamilton, whom lie not long after killed in a duel. The 
tide of public opinion set strongly against him in consequence 

of this unfortunate affair, and he was swept into exile 

1805 upon the seacoast of Carolina. He, however, returned 
Mar. \ to Washington, and presided over the Senate until the 

expiration of his term of office as Vice-President. 
A warrant for the killing of Hamilton, in the hands of the 
officers of justice, prevented Burr from returning to New York, 
lie had likewise become unpopular with the friends of Jefferson, 
with whom he had been a close competitor for the Presidency. 
of course he had no friends among the prominent federalists, 
against whom he had always acted. These things combined to 
make him long for brighter prospects in the Southwest. In 
1805 he traveled through Kentucky and Tennessee, enjoying the 
society of ('lay and Jackson, besides that of many other distin- 
guished persons. From January until August of the following 
year his hours were passed in Washington and Philadelphia, 

488 



THE ARRKST OF AARON BURR IX ALABAMA. 489 



consumed in revolving schemes, the consummation of which he 
believed would elevate him above his fallen condition. 

Burr had purchased a portion of the lands granted by the 
King of Spain to Baron Bastrop, which lay between the Sabine 
and Natchitoches. 1 1 is designs appear to have been the coloni- 
zation of these lands, the expulsion of the Spaniards, the conquest 
of Texas, and, ultimately, of Mexico. To effect these things it 
was necessary to raise a large armed force in the West. He be- 
lieved, also, that a war would soon ensue between the United 
States and Spain, and he expected, in that event, to co-operate 
with General Wilkinson, who had charge of the Western and 
Southern army. Upon his death-bed Burr denied that he had 
any intention of dismembering the Union, and, as he had then 
arrived at the age of eighty, and outlived both his descendants 
and his reputation, it would seem that there was no inducement 
to conceal any act of his life. 

Burr again made his appearance in the western country, 
where his plausibility captivated the people, who made 
active preparations to carry out his designs. Boats were 1806 
constructed and stored with provisions and concealed Summer 
arms. General Wilkinson was suspected of having 
countenanced his enterprise. Rumors had reached President 
Jefferson that Burr was raising troops for the purpose of dis- 
membering the Union. He caused him to be arrested at 
Lexington, where Clay appeared in his defence. Burr 1806 
was discharged, for the want of sufficient evidence to Dec. 6 
convict him. Then, descending the Cumberland river, 
and the Mississippi, with thirteen boats and sixty men, he was 
met, some miles above Natchez, by Colonel F. L. Claiborne, 
whom the Governor of the Mississippi Territory, influenced by 
the proclamations of Jefferson, had despatched, at the head of a 
detachment of two hundred and seventy-five men, for the 
purpose of arresting him. Burr surrendered his boats 1807 
and men, and proceeded, with Claiborne, to the town of Jan. 



I!M) 



HISTORY! <)l AI.AI'.AMA 



Washington, once more a prisoner «>' the United States- 
The people, generally, sympathized with him, and thought him 
much wronged, n < *- w ; « s honored with balls and parties in Adams 
county. He found do difficulty in giving bonds, in the sum of 
ten thousand dollars, for ins appearance at court. When it con- 
vened be appeared, with his counsel, and demanded a release 
Crora his bonds, as the Attorney ( teneral stated that he was satis- 
fled his offenses did not come within the jurisdiction of Missis- 
sippi, and insisted on his being Bent to a competent tribunal. 
The motion of the Attorney-General was sustained, and Burr's 
application for a discharge was overruled by the Judges. The 
next morning the prisoner did Dot make ins appearance in the 
court room, and It was soon ascertained that be had fled, a 
troop of oavalry was despatched In pursuit of him, while the 
governor distributed proclamations over the country, whiob 
promised a, reward of two thousand dollars for iiis apprehension. 
i [is destinai i<>n was unknown. 

During a oold night Ln February, two young men — Nicholas 
Perkins, a Lawyer, ;ui<i Thomas Malone, clerk of the court were 
sitting in their oabin, In the village of Wakefield, Washington 
oounty, Alabama* Before them was a backgammon board, and 
they were absorbed Ln the playing of that game. The hour was 
ten o'clook, The distant tramp <>r horses arrested their atten- 
tion. Two travellers presently rode up to the door, one of whom 
Inquired for the tavern, tt was pointed out to him, and then he 
asked the road to Colonel Hi n son's. Perkins informed him thai 

the route lay over dillieult paths, the place was seven 

isoT miles distant, and a dangerous oreek intervened. The 

Feb, L8 lire, being replenished with pine, now threw a Light Ln 

the face Of the traveller who propounded these questions. 

His oountenanoe appeared to Perkins exceedingly interesting. 

Mis eyes sparkled like diamonds, while lie sat upon his splendid 
horse, caparisoned with a line sadd le and new holslers. His dress 



THE ARREST 0¥ aai:.o\ BURS in ALABAMA. l!M 

was fchat oi a plain farmer, but beneath iiis coarse pantaloons 
protruded a pan- of exquisitely shaped boots. His striking fea« 
tares, with the strange mixture of bis apparel, aroused the sus- 
picions of Perkins, and, no sooner had the two travelers ridden 
Prom the door, than in- said t<> Malone, with the most earne I 
gesticulation, u That is Aaron Burr. I have read a description 
of him in the proclamation. I cannot, be mistaken. Let us 
follow him to H in son's, and take measures for iiis arrest." Ma- 
lone declined to accompany him, remonstrating, at the same 
time, upon the folly of pursuing a traveler-, at such a late hour 
of the night, and upon the i>asis oi the merest, conjecture. Per- 
kins now rushed to the cabin of Theodore Bright well, 
the sheriff, and awoke him. Presently these men were 1807 
seen riding off with a rapid pace. The eight was bitter Feb. 18 

cold, and the pine trees Of the forest sadly moaned. 

The travelers strangely made their way to the residence of 

llinson, where they arrived about half past eleven o'clock. The 

moon had just risen, and enabled the lady of the house, whose 

husband was absent, to see that they were travelers, by then 
saddle-bags and tin cups, as she timidly peeped through b smalj 
window, she made no answer to their "halloo," but quietly 
closed the window. The strangers alighted and went into the 

kitchen, when- a Cheerful tire was yet, burning. Perkins and the 

sheriff soon came in sigh! of the house. The former, recollecting 
that be bad already been seen at Wakefield, thought It politic to 

remain in the woods, until Bright Well could go in the hon e, 

make the necessary discoveries, and return to him. Mi .-.. Ilin on 

was a relative of the sheriff, and, recognizing his voice, felt re- 
lieved by bis appearance from the fears she bad felt In conse- 
quence of the strangers havjng come at such a late hour of the 
night. Brightwell repaired to the kitchen and discovered one of 
these men sitting by the Are, with his bead down, while .1 hand- 
kerchief partially concealed his hue. nj s companion had gone 
to the stable to assist a negro in taking care of the horses. It 



492 HISTORY OF ALAHAMA. 

was not long before they went into the main building, where the 
hostess bad hastily prepared supper. While the elder traveler 
was eating, he engaged her in a sprightly conversation, in which 
he often thanked her for her kindness. At the same 
1807 time he cast the keenest glances at the sheriff, who stood 
Feb. 18 before the fire, evidently with the endeavor to read his 
thoughts and intentions. After he had finished his sup- 
per he arose from the table, bowed to the lady, walked back to 
the kitchen and took his seat by the fire. Mrs, Hinson then 
turned to his companion, and said, " Have I not, sir, the honor of 
entertaining Colonel Burr, the gentleman who has just walked 
out?" He gave her no answer, but rose from the table, much 
embarrassed, and also repaired to the kitchen. Her question had 
been prompted by Brightwell. in the morning, after breakfast, 
the elder traveler sought an interview with the lady, 
Feb. 19 took occasion again to thank her for the hospitable at- 
tentions, regretted the absence of her husband, inquired 
the route to Pensacola, and rode off with his companion. 

Perkins remained at his post in the woods, shivering with 
cold, and wondering why Brightwell did not return to him. 
His patience at length became exhausted, and, believing the 
person he was pursuing to be really Burr, he mounted his 
horse, and rode rapidly to the house of Joseph Bates, Sr., at 
Nannahubba Bluff. Procuring from that gentleman a negro 
and a eanoe, he paddled down the river, and arrived at Fort 
Stoddart at the breaking of day. Hushing into the fort, and 
acquainting Captain Edward P. Gaines with his suspicions, 
the Latter made instant preparations to take the road. After a 
hasty breakfast, about the rising of the sun, Gaines, placing him- 
self at the head of a file of mounted soldiers, rode off 
1807 with Perkins. About nine o'clock that morning they 
Feb. 19 met the two mysterious travelers, on the descent of a 
hill, near a wolf pen, at the distance of two miles from 



THE ARREST OF AARON BURR IN ALABAMA. 493 

the residence of Hinson. The following conversation imme- 
diately ensued : 

Gaines — I presume, sir, I have the honor of addressing 
Colonel Burr. 

Stranger — I am a traveler in the country, and do not recog- 
nize your right to ask such a question. 

Gaines — I arrest you at the instance of the Federal Govern- 
ment. 

Stranger — By what authority do you arrest a traveler upon 
the highway, on his own private business? 

Gaines — I am an officer of the army. I hold in my hands 
the proclamations of the President and the Governor, directing 
your arrest. 

Stranger — You are a young man, and may not be aware of 
the responsibilities which result from arresting travelers. 

Gaines— I am aware of the responsibilities, but I know my 
duty. 

The stranger now became exceedingly animated, and with 
much eloquence and force denounced these proclamatins as docu- 
ments which had emanated in malevolent feeling, without any 
just foundation, and endeavored again to frighten the young 
Officer from discharging his duty, by ingeniously animadverting 
upon the great liabilities which he was about to assume. But 
Gaines sternly replied, " My mind is made up. You must accom- 
pany me to Fort Stoddart, where you shall be treated 
with all the respect due the ex- Vice-President of the 1807 
United States, so long as you make no attempt to escape Feb. 19 
from me." The stranger for a moment gazed at him with 
earnestness, apparently surprised at the unusual firmness which 
the young officer exhibited. He then assented, by a gentle mo- 
tion of his head, wheeled his horse around, and took the road to 
the fort, riding by the side of the captain. His traveling com- 
panion rode back toward Wakefield with Brightwell, the sheriff, 



494 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



who was in company with the two travelers when they were met 
by Gaines.* 

The party reached the fort in the evening, and Colonel 
Burr, being conducted to his room, took his dinner alone. 
Late in the night, he heard a groan in an adjoining room. He 
arose from a table, at which he was reading, opened the 
1 807 door, entered the room, and approached the bedside of 
Feb. 19 Geo. S. Gaines, the brother of the commandant, who was 
sick. He was kind to the sufferer, felt of his pulse, said 
he had traveled much and knew something of medicine, and 
offered his services. They now entered into an agreeable con- 
versation. Burr asked the Choctaw factor many questions about 
the Indians and their commerce. The next day he appeared at 
the dinner table, and was introduced to the wife of the com- 
mandant, who was the daughter of Judge Harry Toulmin. In 
the evening, he played chess with that accomplished lady, and, 
during his confinement at the fort, was often her competitor in 
that intricate game. Every night he sought the company of the 
invalid, who became exceedingly attached to him, and who felt 
deep regret on account of the downfall of so interesting and so 
distinguished a character. Often and often did the good heart of 
George S. Gaines grieve over the adversities and trials of this 
remarkable man, as they discoursed together. In all their con- 
versations, maintained every night, the impenetrable Burr never 
once alluded to the designs which he had failed to carry out, to 
his present arrest, or to his future plans. 

In the meantime, Captain Gaines had been untiring in his 

* It remains a mystery to this day why Brightwell did not keep his promise with Per- 
kins, and I can only account for it by supposing that he became fascinated with Colonel 
Kurr, was sorry that he had sought to arrest him, and was now conducting him to Mrs. 
Carson's ferry! upon the Tombigby, on the route to Pensacola. Burr had seen Colonel 
Hinson at Natchez, who had invited him to his house should he ever pass that way. 
When he escaped from Natchez he was secreted, from time to time, at the houses of his 
friends, and he was hastening to Hinson's, with whom he had intended to pass a week. 
But when he found him absent, and himself discovered by Brightwell, who probably in- 
formed him of the intentions of Perkins, he determined to rly to Pensacola, and there 
take a ship lor Europe. He intended to enlist wealthy and influential persons, both in 
England and France, in the scheme of making the conquest of the North American 
Spanish possessions, now that he had so signally failed to accomplish it in the United 
States. 



THE ARREST OF AARON BURR IJST ALABAMA. 495 

exertions to fit out an expedition for the conveyance 
of his distinguished prisoner to the federal city. At 1807 
length he placed Burr in a boat, along with a tile of About the 
soldiers, and he was rowed up the Alabama river and period of 
then into Lake Ten saw. Passing some houses on the March 5 
banks, several ladies wept upon seeing the ex- Vice- 
President a prisoner, and one of them named a son for him. 
Everywhere in the Southwest the ladies were attached to the 
man, and suffered their feelings to become enlisted in behalf of 
his unfortunate enterprises. It is a prominent and noble trait 
in the female character to admire a man of daring and generous 
impulses, and to pity and defend him in his adversities !* 

Arriving at the Boat Yard, Burr disembarked and was de- 
livered to the guard which was so long to be with him in dangers 
and fatigues. It consisted of Colonel Nicholas Perkins, 
of Tennessee, who had, as we have seen, been the 1807 
cause of his arrest, Thomas Malone, formerly a clerk About the 
in the land office at Raleigh, North Carolina, but who, period of 
at this period, was a clerk of the court of Washington March 6 
county, Alabama, Henry B. Slade, of North Carolina, 
John Mills, a native of Alabama, John Henry, of Tennessee, two 
brothers, named McCormack, of Kentucky, and two federal 
soldiers. With the exception of the two soldiers, Perkins 
had chosen these men on account of the confidence which he 
reposed in their honor, energy and fidelity. He had been placed 
over them by Captain Gaines, who entertained a high opinion 
of his bravery and capacity. Perkins took his men aside and 
obtained from them the most solemn pledge that they would 
not suffer the prisoner to influence them in any manner in his 
behalf; to avoid which, they promised to converse as little as 
possible with him upon the whole route to Washington. The 
character of Burr for making strong impressions in his favor 
upon the human mind was well known to Perkins. 

* Burr was not only popular with the ladies, but the most prominent men in the 
Southwest favored his enterprise, as they had long been anxious lor the expulsion of 
the Spaniards. 



496 history OF ALABAMA. 



When the prisoner fled from the Natchez settlements he 
assumed a disguised dress. lie was still attired in it. It con- 
sisted of coarse pantaloons, made of homespun of a copperas 
dye, and a roundabout of inferior drab cloth, while his hat was a 
flapping, wide-brimmed beaver, which had in times past been 
white, but now presented a variety of dingy colors. When the 
guard was ready to depart, be mounted the same elegant horse 
which he t'odewhen arrested, lie bestrode; him most gracefully, 

flashed Ids Large dark eyes upon the many bystanders, audibly 
bade them farewell, and departed.* Perkins and his men were 
well provided with Large pistols, which they carried in holsters, 
while I lie two soldiers had muskets. They Left tin; Boat Yard, a 
quarter of a mile from which the terrible massacre; of Fort Minis 

afterwards occurred, and, pursuing the Indian path, encamped 
the flrst night in tin; lower part of the present county of Monroe. 
The only tent taken along was pitched for Burr, and under it Ik; 

lay flu; flrst night by large; tires, which threw a glare over the 
dismal woods. All night his ears were saluted with the fierce 
and disagreeable howling of wolves. In the wilds of Alabama, 
in a small tent, reposed this remarkable man, surremneleel by a 
guard, and without a solitary friend Or Congenial spirit. He; was 
a prisoner of the United States, for wlmse liberties he bad 
fought ; ami an exile- from New Ye>rk, whose' statutes and insti- 
tutions bore the 1 impress of his mind. Death had deprived him 
Of his accomplished wife 1 , his einly chilel was on the distant eoast 

of Carolina, his professional pursuits were abandoned, his fortune 
swept from him, the' magnificent scheme of the conquest of Mex- 
ico defeated, and he; was harassed from one^ e;nei of th<' Union to 
the' other. All these things were sufficient to weigh down an 
ordinary being and hurry him to tiie 1 grave;. Burr, lmwever, \\ as 
no oommon man. In the morning he lose with a cheerful face, 
and fell into traveling order, along with the 1 , taciturn ami watch- 
ful persons who had charge of him. 

« Many penoni who saw Iturr in Alabama have told me thai Ins eves were peculiar)) 

in -in i.i n i , and, to use I he comparison of Ma lone, » they looked like Btara." 



THE aBBEST OP AAEON HUltK IN ALABAMA. 197 

Although guarded with vigilance, he was treated with 
respect and kindness, and his lew wants were gratified. The 
trail, like all Indian highways, was narrow, wbioh required the 
guard to march in single file, with Burr in the middle of 
the line. The route lay about eight miles south of the L807 
present city of Montgomery, then an Indian town called 

Econchate.* Passing by the residenoeof "Old Milly," who, as 

we have seen, lived upon the oreek in Montgomery county, 
which still hears her name, Perkins employed her hushand, 

a mulatto named Evans, to conduct the guard across Line 
Creek, Cubahatchee and Calabee, all of which they were forced 

to swim. It was a perilous and fatiguing march, and for days 
the rain descended In chilling torrents upon these unsheltered 
horsemen, collecting in deep and rapid rivulets at every point. 

Hundreds of Indians, too, thronged the trail, and tin; party might 
have been killed in one moment, lint the tearless Perkins bore 

on his distinguished prisoner, amid angry elements and human 
foes. In the journey through Alabama the guard always slept 

in the woods, near swamps of reed, upon which the belled and 
hobbled horses fed during the night. After breakfast,, it was 
their custom again to mount their horses and march on, with a 

silence which was sometimes broken by a remark about the 
weather, -the creeks or the Indians. Burr sat firmly in tin; sad 

die, was always on the alert, and was a most excellent 

rider. Although drenched for hours with cold and 1807 

clammy rain, and at night extended upon a thin pallet, March 

on the bare ground, after having accomplished a ride of 

forty miles each day, yet, in tin; whole distance to Richmond, 

this remarkable man was never heard to eomplain that be was 

sick, or even fatigued. At tin; Chattahoocbie was a crossing 

place, owned by an Indian named Marshall, where; tin; effects of 
the expedition were carried over the river in canoes, by the sides 
of which the horses swam. In this manner they passed tin; Flint 
* Econchate means Red Ground. 

32 



49H 



IIISTOKV Ol AI.AI'.AMA. 



and Oekrnultf<M\ Arriving at Port Wilkinson, on the Ooonee, 
PerkinH entered the firnt ferry boat which be bad seen upon the 
whole route, and, ;> few miles beyond the river, w;i,m sheltered by 
i be Hi Ht, pool a bouse oi entertainment, kept by one Bevin. 

Willie breakfast was In a state of preparation, and the guard 
were quietly sitting before a Large Are, the publican began a 
series of questions $ and learning that the party were from the 
"Bigby settlement, 1 ' he Immediately fell upon the fruitful theme 
of " Aaron Burr, the traitor." He asked if he bad not been ar 

m- ited it' lie WilH not a very had man and il every one 

180*3 was not afraid of him. Perkins and tho wmI of the 

March guard, muoh annoyed and embarrassed, hung down their 

beads, and made no reply. Burr, who was sitting in m 

oorner near the flre, majestically raised bis bead, and flashing 

iiin flery eye upon Bevin, said i 

1 i .on Aaron Burr; what Is It you want with me?" 

SI, nick with the keenness Of his look, the solemnity of Ids 

voice, and thedignity <>r liis manner, Kevin stood aghast, and 
trembled Like a leaf. He asked not another question of the guard, 
hut, quietly moved about the house, offering the most, obsequious 
attentions! 

when Perkins reaohed the confines of South Carolina, h<* 
watched the prisoner more closely than ever, for Ln this State 
lived Colonel Joseph Alston — a man <>r talents and Influ- 
ence, afterwards governor who had married the only daugh- 
ter, and, Indeed, the only child of Burr. Afraid that the pris 

Oner WOUld he rescued at sonic point, in this Stale, he e\ 
horted his men tO renewed vijm lance. Kcl'ore entering the 
town, in which is situated the Court House of Chester Dis 
I i id, South Carolina, he made a halt, and placed Uvo men in 
front Of Burr, tWO behind, and tWO On either side of linn. Iii 
this manner they passed near a tavern, at the Court House, 

where many persons were standing Ln frontof the portico, while 
music and danoing were heard m the house. Seeing the oollec 



THE ARBEST OF AARON HURR in ALABAMA. 199 



iion of men so near bim, Burr threw bimsell from his borse, and 
exclaimed In ;< loud voice, u i am Aaron Bi br, ujcd] b uilitabk 

\i:iik:; T, a no CLAIM THE PBOTJ I WO 01 PHB CIVIL AUTHOR- 

1 1 M :.. ,, Perkins, vritb several of the guard, immediately iko7 
dismounted, and the former ordered the prisoner i<> re Mar, 
mount. Burr, in a mosl defiant manner, said, " J will 
hot!" Being unwilling to ihoot bim, Perkim threw down his 
pistols, both of which be held Ln hi bands, and seizing Burr 
around the waist with the grasp of a tiger, threw him into bis 
saddle. Thomas Malone oaughl the reins oi the prison's horse, 
slipped them over bis bead, and led the animal rapidly on, while 
others whipped bim up from behind. The astonished citizen 
■ ,,iw ,1 party enter their village with a prisoner, heard bim appeal 
to them for protection In the most audible and imploring manner 
saw armed men Immediately surround bim and thrust bim again 
oiii* bis saddle, and then the whole party vanish from their 
presence, before they could recover from their confusion. The 
least timidity or hesitation on the part of Perkins would have 
lost iti iii bis prisoner, for the latter was still popular Ln South 
< larolina. 

Far in <ii«; outskirts of the town the party baited. Burr wal 
In a high state of excitement, and burst mi<>;i flood of teai 
Theklnd hearted Malone also wept, sit himmiik th» low condition 
to which this conspicuous man was now reduced. The bold al 
tempt to escape, and the Irre olution oi the people to whom be 
appealed, suddenly unmanned bim. Perkins held a short con 
sultation with some of bis men, and sending Burr on the route 
in charge of the guard, with Malone In command, be went baoh 
to the village, and purchasing ;t y t \y, overtook the party before 
night. Burr was placed In this vehicle and driven by 
Malone, e oorted by the guard. Without further Inoi 1807 
dent, they arrived at Fredericksburg, where despatches Mar. 80 
from Jefferson caused them to take Burr to Richmond. 
The ladies of the latter place vied with, each other In contribute 



500 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



ing to the comforts of the distinguished ex-Vice-President, send- 
ing him fruit, wine, and a variety of fine apparel. Perkins and 
his men repaired to Washington, reported to the President, and 
returned to Alabama by the distant route of Tennessee. 

Aaron Burr was arraigned for treason, and was tried and 
acquitted. He was then arraigned for misdemeanor, and was 
tried and acquitted. Thus ended the most expensive and extra- 
ordinary trial known to the country. A part of the time that he 
was in Richmond the Federal Government caused him to be con- 
fined in the upper story of the penitentiary, where he was per- 
mitted to enjoy the company of his daughter. 

Sailing to Europe, Burr was at first treated with great 
distinction in England. The winter of 1809 found him in 
Edinburgh. Residing some time in Sweden and Germany, he 
at length arrived in France, where Bonaparte, influenced by 
letters from America, conceived a prejudice against him so 
immovable that he refused him passports to leave the country. 
At length the Duke de Bassano procured him the necessary 
documents, when he sailed for America, and arrived at New 
Fork on the 8th of June, 1812. Here ha engaged again in the 
lucrative practice of the law, living in dignified obscurity, if such 
a position could be assigned to a man of his notoriety. He died 
at Staten Island, on the 11th of September, 1836, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty. His body, attended by his relations and 
friends, was taken to Princeton, New Jersey, and interred among 
the graves of his ancesters. 

With the private character of Burr, we conceive we have 
nothing to do, except to add that we believe him to have been a 
most profligate and licentious man. When the world put him 
down — when he received nothing but abuse and ingratitude from 
those who once sycophantically surrounded him, and whom he 
had helped to offices of honor and profit — when he was shunned 
by his old companions in arms, not invited into the society of 
the refined, but was pointed at, in walking Broadway, as the 



THE ARREST OF AARON BURR IX ALABAMA. 501 

murderer and the traitor — he became disheartened and soured; 
and, being without those religious feelings which sustain the 
most unfortunate, he threw off every restraint, and gave a loose 
rein to sentiments always unprincipled, and to passions always 
strong.* 

One of the gravest facts proved against Burr, at his trial at 
Richmond, upon the evidence of General Wilkinson, was that the 
prisoner, in a letter written to him in cipher, "avowed his design 
of seizing upon Baton Rouge, as a preliminary measure, and, 
afterwards, extending his conquests into the Spanish provinces." 
Admitting this to be true, it did not prove that he intended to 
dismember the Union. Our readers have already seen that the 
Federal Government, and the people of the Southwest, desired 
the expulsion of the Spaniards from the Baton Rouge district, 
which was a part of the purchase from Napoleon, when he sold 
us Louisiana; and hereafter, it will be seen that these Spaniards 
were driven from the Baton Rouge district only three years after 
I inn's trial, when the governor of it, Colonel Grandpre, was 
killed. In the citizens of the Southwest, who accomplished this 
end, it was not held to be treason — but Burr, for merely content- 
plating it, was tried for that crime. It was not considered 
treason, when President Jackson allowed hundreds of people of 
the Southwest to be shipped from Mobile and New Orleans, 
with arms in their hands, who presently lauded upon the coast 
of Texas, and took that country from the Spaniards — but, for 
similar designs, Aaron Burr was hunted down, thrown into 
prison, and tried for treason. The impartial reader must arrive at 
the conclusion that the faults of Burr, in a political and public 

* In relation to Burr's arrest in Alabama, and his journey through the wilderness, I 
conversed with Mr. Thomas Malone, one of his guard; with Mrs. Hinson, now Mrs. 
Sturdevant, at whose house Burr passed the night when he was discovered; with Mr. 
George S Gaines, who was at Fort Stoddart when he was brought there; and with Mrs. 
Howse, who saw him when they were conducting him up Lake Tensaw. I also corres- 
ponded with Major-General Gaines, and have his testimony. All these witnesses are 
reputable, and as respectable as any persons in Alabama. 

On the subject of Burr's early lite, and of his operations in the Western country, I 
consulted Memoirs of Aaron Burr, by M. L. Davis ; the various American State Papers ; 
Clarke's Proof s of the Corruption of Wilkinson; Memoirs of Wilkinson, by himself ; 
Familiar Letters upon Public Characters, and many other works. 



f>02 HISTORY OF alahama. 



capacity, were not such as ought really to have placed that 
odium upon him which still attaches to his name. One of the 
great secrets of his political misfortunes lay in the prejudices 
and malevolence of politicians and fanatics. Somebody heard 
General Washington say that " Burr was a dangerous man;" 
thereupon the world set him down as a "dangerous man." He 
killed Hamilton in a duel, because Hamilton abused him; there- 
upon the world said he was a "murderer." He was a formidable 
rival of Jefferson in the contest for the Presidency; thereupon a 
majority of the republican party said he was a political scoun- 
drel. IF<5 had always opposed the federal party; for that reason 
the federal party hated him with exceeding bitterness. A blun- 
dering, extravagant man, named Herman Blannerhassett, sought 
Burr while he was in the West, eagerly enlisted in his schemes, 
and invited him to his house; thereupon William Wirt said, in 
his prosecuting speech, that Burr "was the serpent who entered 
the garden of Eden." 

We do not wish to be considered as the defender of Aaron 
Burr. We do not admire his character, or that of many of his 
distinguished contemporaries who assailed him. But, as a histo- 
rian, we are expected to write the truth, even if that truth is 
unpalatable to the prejudices of the age. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

St. Stephens — Huntsville — Indian Commerce — Kemper Ex- 
peditions. 

The military movements of Burr increased the population 
and wealth of the Mississippi Territory, for hundreds of his fol- 
lowers became permanent citizens. About this time the cultiva- 
tion of indigo was much abandoned for that of cotton, and some 
salutary laws were enacted in relation to the toll for ginning the 
latter staple. The cotton receipts obtained from the owner of a 
gin were also made a legal tender, and passed as domestic bills 
of exchange. St. Stephens was laid off into town lots. 
A road was cut out from thence to the city of Natchez. 1807 
Notwithstanding the revenue exactions upon the set- Dec. 7 
tiers, which now subjected them, by means of the Span- 
ish custom-house at Mobile and the American at Fort Stoddart, 
to a duty of from forty-two to forty-seven per cent, ad valorem 
for articles essential to family comfort, while at the same time 
their fellow-citizens about Natchez were entirely free from such 
exactions, paying only four dollars per barrel for Kentucky flour, 
when the Tombigby planter paid sixteen — yet they remained 
loyal to the Federal Government ; and both whigs and 
tories participated in an animated public meeting at 1807 
Wakefield, pledging their support to the United States Sept. 8 
to avenge the wanton attack of the British upon the 
American ship Chesapeake, in a string of eloquent and patriotic 
resolutions, drafted by James McGoffin. 

The little town of, Huntsville, north of the Tennessee, con- 
tinued to receive around it many wealthy emigrants from several 

503 



BATTLE O 

CHOLOCCO LIT 

OR, 

THE HORSE-S 




REFERENCES. 
A — Hill from which the 

cannon played. 
B B B B— High broKG 

ridge. 
C C — Indian huts. 
D D D DpPPPPPP — 
Men formed in battle. 



ST. STEPHENS AND HUNTSVILLE. 505 



of the Atlantic and Western States. Governor Williams 
issued a proclamation, forming a county, of which this 1808 
became the courthouse. The new county of Madison, Dec. 13 
where it joined the Tennessee line, was about twenty- 
five miles wide, and approached the Tennessee river in the shape 
of a triangle, not exceeding three miles wide at Ditto's Landing. 
It embraced all the territory that fell within Alabama, to which 
the Indian title was extinguished by the treaty with the Chicka- 
saws in 1805. 

The Mississippi Territory continued to improve. The forests 
began to be extensively felled ; houses were reared as if by magic ; 
the preacher was zealous in the discharge of his divine mission ; 
the "schoolmaster was abroad;" the medical and legal 
professions nourished ; the merchants drove a good busi- 1809 
ness ; the mechanics received constant employment and Dec. 23 
high wages — while the farmer worked for them all, and 
received his due reward. These remarks apply more particularly 
to the section upon the Mississippi. A stock bank, with a capital 
of five hundred thousand dollars, was established at Natchez. 

The factory of the United States, located at St. Stephens, 
continued to be managed with advantage, so far as the friend- 
ship of the Choctaws depended, which was the chief aim of the 
government. When quite a young man, Mr. George S. Gaines, a 
native of Virginia, and then a resident of Gallatin, Tennessee, 
received the appointment of assistant factor, and arrived at St. 
Stephens in the spring of 1805. The parsonage of the old Spanish 
church was used as a skin-house, and the old block-house served 
the purpose of the government store. In 1807 Gaines was made 
principal factor. He received a good salary, as also did the as- 
sistant clerk, the skinsman and the interpreter. To this estab- 
lishment the Indians — principally Choctaws — and sometimes the 
American settlers, brought bear's oil, honey in kegs, beeswax, 
bacon, groundnuts, tobacco in kegs, and all kinds of skins and 
peltries. To pay for which, the Federal Government usually 



506 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

kept a stock of coarse Indian merchandise, besides all kinds of 
iron tools, ploughs, arms and ammunition. In the summer the 
furs and hides, often overhauled by the skinsman for the pur- 
pose of keeping out the worms, were assorted. In the fall they 
were packed up in bales and shipped to the Indian Agent at 
Philadelphia. Mr. Gaines at first came often in collision with 
the revenue authorities of Mobile, who exacted duties — de- 
layed his vessels — and, upon one occasion, came near putting 
him in the calaboose of that place for venturing to remon- 
strate. The Federal Government, to avoid the payment of these 
duties, and to prevent delays, instructed the factor to obtain 
the consent of the Chickasaws for a road from Colbert's Ferry 
to St. Stephens. The government resolved to send supplies 
down the Ohio and up the Tennessee, to the former point. The 
faithful and enterprising Gaines was unable to procure the privi- 
lege of a road, but was allowed the use of a horse path. Upon 
the backs of horses he was accustomed to transport goods, hard- 
ware, and even lead, from Colbert's Ferry to Peachland's, upon 
the Tombigby. There, boats being constructed, the mer- 
1810 chandise was floated down to St. Stephens. It is singu- 
lar that our ministers, in forming the treaty with Spain 
in 1795, by which we acquired all of West Florida above the 
line of 31°, and the right of free navigation of the Mississippi, 
neglected to insert an article for the free navigation of the bays 
and rivers of Mobile and Pearl.* 

The Spaniards continued to occupy the Baton Rouge district 
and that of Mobile, and the daring Kempers, who had received 
such cruel treatment at their hands, together with many other 
persons, impatient at the irresolution of the Federal Government, 
resolved to expel them. They were assisted by the people of 
Bayou Sara, and others below Ellicott's line. Organ- 
August izing at St. Francisville, the patriots, as they styled 
themselves, marched upon Baton Rouge — took it by 

* Conversations with Mr. George S. Gaines. 



ST. STEPHENS AND HUNTSVILLE. 507 

surprise, after a small skirmish, in which Governor Grandpre 
was killed. The town and other posts fell into their hands, and 
the Spaniards retired to Pensacola. As the Americans at this 
period, and for a long time previous, were fruitful in plans to 
form governments independent of the Union, so the patriots, 
many of whom were old Spanish subjects, now resolved to have 
one of their own. A convention assembled, which adopted a de- 
claration of independence, very similar in tone and sen- 
timent to that drawn up by Jefferson. They declared 1810 
their right and intention to form treaties, and to estab- Sept. 26 
lish commerce with foreign nations. Afterwards, how- 
ever, this new republic was annexed to Louisiana with Oct. 27 
the approbation of the inhabitants. 

The Kempers, apart from mercenary motives for engaging 
in this rebellion, desired to gratify a feeling of revenge. Reuben 
and Samuel captured Kneeland, one of the kidnappers, and in- 
flicted upon his naked back one hundred lashes, then one hun- 
dred more for their brother Nathan, who was absent, cut off his 
ears with a dull knife and permitted him to retire. These 
trophies of resentment were long preserved in spirits of wine, 
and hung up in one of the Kemper's parlor. Reuben caught an- 
other of these wretches Uamed Horton, and chastised him as long 
as the latter could receive it, and live. Barker, seized by the 
Kempers at the court house at Fort Adams, under the nose of 
the Judge, was dragged forth, and flayed till they were content. 
Captain Alston, who received the Kempers at the line, with a 
Spanish guard and conducted them to Bayou Tunica, died of the 
dropsy contracted in lying in an open boat at anchor every night 
to avoid the attacks of the injured brothers.* 

However, before the new republic was annexed to Louisiana 
the convention despatched its colonel, Reuben Kemper, to the 
Tombigby river to enlist an army for the purpose of expelling 

* MS. notes in the possession of Mr. E.T. Wood, of Mobile. Monette, vol. 2, pp. 486- 
490. American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 7, pp. 482-484-479. 



508 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



the Spaniards from the Mobile district. The hatred of all these 
people for the Spaniards facilitated the movements of Kemper, 
who operated in conjunction with Colonel James Caller, a manor 
wealth and considerable frontier influence, at whose house he 
lodged. Troops were secretly raised. Flat-boats, with provis- 
ions, were despatched down the Tensaw river to Smith's planta- 
tion. . Major Kennedy and Colonel Kemper crossed over to the 
Boat Yard, where they were joined by Dr. Thomas G. 
1810 Holmes and other fearless and ardent spirits, together 
Nov. with a company of horse under Captain Bernard. Ar- 
riving at the White House, one mile above the present 
Blakeley, Kemper despatched young Cyrus Sibley with a letter to 
Governor Folch, who had just taken command of Mobile, 
demanding the surrender of that place. A party under Dr. 
Holmes was also despatched to scour the surrounding country 
for arms, ammunition and provisions, which the inhabitants gen- 
erally secreted and withheld, because, being Spanish subjects, 
they were not dissatisfied with that government, which exacted 
no onerous duties of them. The command dropped down to the 
old fields of Minette Bay, opposite Mobile, where they appro- 
priated to themselves without scruple forage and provisions, the 
property of Charles Conway, Sr. Captain Goss arrived with a 
keel-boat laden with whiskey, corn, flour and bacon, which had 
been sent by the Baton Rouge Convention down the Mississippi 
through the lakes. The whiskey put the whole expedition in 
good spirits. Glowing speeches were made by Kennedy, who 
pointed them to the ancient Mobile, which, he said, they would 
shortly capture. But cold, rainy weather, which the troops were 
forced to encounter without tents or covering of any kind, now 
sat in. This circumstance, together with a personal difficulty 
which arose between Dr. Holmes and Dr. Pollard, in which the 
former was compelled, in self defence, to severely wound the lat- 
ter with a pistol, influenced Kemper to conduct the campaign on 
the other side of the bay. With a portion of the party, Major 



ST. STEPHENS AND HUNTSVILLE. 509 



Hargrove proceeded in the boat to Saw-mill creek, on the west 
side of Mobile river, twelve miles above the town. With an 
abundance of whiskey and several fiddlers, a frolic was there 
kept up, which was intended to last until Kemper and the horse 
company could go round by the (Jut-Off and join them. An evil 
old man in the neighborhood, who often drank with them, went 
one night to Mobile and assured Governor Folch how easily they 
might be captured. The latter sent Parades, with two hundred 
regulars and citizens in boats, up the river late one evening, who 
entered Saw-mill creek, ascended it to the American camp, and 
while the poor fellows were dancing and shouting, at 11 o'clock 
at night, fired upon them. Many of them fled in all di- 
rections. Four were killed and others were wounded. 1810 
Major Hargrove rallied a few of his men and fought, but Nov. 
was overpowered. He and nine more were loaded with 
irons, carried to Mobile, thrown into the calaboose, and from 
thence conveyed to Havana and immured in the dungeons of 
Moro Castle. Cyrus Sibley, afterwards recognized as the bearer 
of the despatch to Folch from Kemper, was seized, and also sent 
to Moro Castle. These men remained Spanish prisoners in the 
Castle for five years* This affair broke up the " Kemp- 
per expedition," which was further embarassed by op- 1811 
position from the Federal authorities about Fort Stod- Nov. 
dart. Subsequently, Wilkinson despatched Colonel 
Cashing, with some troops, to Mobile, for the protection of the 
Spaniards from the designs of the patriots. They en- 
camped three weeks at the Orange Grove. Cushing Dec. 
then marched up to Fort Stoddart, and built a canton- 
ment at Mount Vernon. f 



* MS. notes in the possession of Mr. E. T. Wood, of Mobile. Also, conversations with 
Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, of Baldwin county, Alabama. 

t Conversations with Major Reuben Chamberlain, of Mobile, who came with Colonel 
Cushing. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Tecumseh — Civil War Among the Creeks. 

The United States and Great Britain were upon the verge 
of war. British agents, in Canada and Florida, sought to pro- 
cure the co-operation of the whole southwestern Indian force. 
The Creeks, more powerful in numbers than the others, were 
paiticularly urged to join the English. Colonel Hawkins had 
managed them, with much wisdom and policy, for several years, 
but they always remained dissatisfied, and were particularly so 
now, in consequence of a portion of their Chiefs having 
1811 granted a public road through the heart of their coun- 
try, which had been cut out by Lieutenant Luckett and 
a party of soldiers. This thoroughfare, called the " Federal 
Road," and which run from Mims' Ferry, upon the Alabama, 
to the Chattahoochie, was rilled, from one end to the other, 
with emigrants for the western part of the territory. The 
Creeks, with their usual sagacity, foresaw that they should 
soon be hemmed in by the Georgians on one side, and the 
Tombigby people on the other, and many of them contem- 
plated the expulsion of the latter, at some day nof very dis- 
tant. The Spaniards also hated the emigrants, who had 
continued to drive them, inch by inch, from the soil which they 
claimed. With both them and the Indians the British agents 
began to operate, to make secret allies of the one and open ones 
of the other. But the most powerful British incendiary was Te- 
cumseh. His father and mother, of the Shawnee family, were 
born and bred at Souvanogee,* upon the Tallapoosa, in Alabama. 

* Old Augusta, now the property of Henry Lucas, on the railroad, where there are 
some mounds. 

510 



TECUMSEH CIVIL WAR AMONG THE CREEKS. 511 



With several children, they removed to the forest of Ohio, where 
Tecumseh was born, in 1768. He had five brothers, who were 
all celebrated for the human blood which they spilt and for their 
indomitable courage. His only sister, Tecumapease, a woman of 
great sense and strong character, he devotedly loved, and was 
much influenced by her. In 1787 he visited the Cherokees and 
Oeeks, with whom he remained two years, engaging in their 
hunts, festivals and frontier wars. Returning to the Ohio, he 
fought a battle with a party of whites, near Big Rock, and an- 
other, with the Kentuckians, on the Little Miami, and still an- 
other, at Paint Rock, in 1793. He then engaged in the attack 
upon Fort Recovery, in 1794, and participated in the battle of 
Maumee Rapids in the same year. From that period until that 
in which we propose to connect him with Alabama history, Te- 
cumseh was engaged in British intrigues, in hunts and in skir- 
mishes. Wherever he appeared, devastation and havoc ensued. 
He possessed a fine form, a commanding appearance, and had the 
endurance common to all Indians, together with a high degree of 
sagacity. He entertained the most relentless hatred of the 

Americans. 

After many conferences with the British, at Detroit, Tecum- 
seh left that country with a party of thirty warriors 
mounted upon horses, and shaped his course to the Spring 
south. Passing through the Chickasaw and Choctaw of 

country, he was unsuccessful in arraying these tribes 1812 
against the Americans. He went down to Florida, and 
met with complete success with the Seminoles. In the month of 
October he came up to the Alabama, crossed that river 
at Autauga, where he, for the first time, appealed to the Oct. 
the Creeks, in a long speech. Continuing to Coosawda, 
he had by this time, collected many followers, who went with 
him to the Hickory Ground. Having from their boyhood heard 
of his feats in the buffalo chase, the bloody wars which he had 
conducted, and of his fierce and transcendent eloquence, the war- 



512 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



riors flocked to see him. He went to Tookabatcha, where Colonel 
Hawkins was then holding his grand council with the Indians. 
This ancient capital never looked so gay and populous. An au- 
tumnal sun glittered upon the yellow faces of five thousand na- 
tives, besides whites and negroes, who mingled with them. At 
the conclusion of the agent's first day's address, Tecumseh, at 
the head of his Ohio party, marched into the square. They 
were entirely naked, except their flaps and ornaments. Their 
faces were painted black, and their heads adorned with eagle 
plumes, while buffalo tails dragged from behind, suspended 
by bands which went around their waists. Buffalo tails were 
also attached to their arms, and made to stand out, by means 
of bands. Their appearance was hideous, and their bearing pom- 
pous and ceremonious. They marched round and round in the 
square; then, approaching the Chiefs, they cordially shook them 
with the whole length of the arm, and exchanged tobacco, a com- 
mon ceremony with the Indians, denoting friendship, as we have 
already seen. Captain Isaacs, Chief of Coosawda, was the only 
one who refused to exchange tobacco. His head, adorned with 
its usual costume — a pair of buffalo horns— was shaken in con- 
tempt of Tecumseh, who, he said, was a bad man, and no greater 
than he was. 

Every day Tecumseh appeared in the square to deliver his 
"talk," and all ears were anxious to hear it; but late in the even- 
ing he would rise and say, "The sun has gone too far to-day — I 
will make my talk to-morrow." At length Hawkins terminated 
his business and departed for the Agency upon the Flint. That 
night a grand council was held in the great round-house. Te- 
cumseh, presenting his graceful and majestic form above the 
heads of hundreds, made known his mission in a long speech, 
full of fire and vengeance. He exhorted them to return to their 
primitive customs; to throw aside the plough and the loom, and 
to abandon an agricultural life, which was unbecoming Indian 
warriors. He told them that after the whites had possessed the 



TECUMSEH CIVIL WAR AMONG THE CREEKS. 513 

greater part of their country, turned its beautiful forests into 
large fields and stained their clear rivers with the washings of 
the soil, they would then subject them to African servitude. He 
exhorted them to assimilate in no way with the grasping, unprin- 
cipled race ; to use none of their arms and wear none of their 
clothes, but dress in the skins of beasts, which the Great Spirit 
had given his red children for food and raiment, and to use the 
war-club, the scalping-knife and the bow. He concluded by 
announcing that the British, their former friends, had sent him 
from the Big Lakes to procure their services in expelling the 
Americans from all Indian soil; that the King of England was 
ready handsomely to reward all who would fight for his cause. 

A prophet, who composed one of the party of Tecumseh. 
next spoke. He said that he frequently communed with the 
Great Spirit, who had sent Tecumseh to their country 
upon this mission, the character of which that great 1812 
Chief had described. He declared that those who would Oct. 
join the war party should be shielded from all harm — 
none would be killed in battle ; that the Great Spirit would sur- 
round them with quagmires, which would swallow up the Amer- 
icans as they approached ; that they would finally expel every 
Georgian from the soil as far as the Savannah ; that they would 
see the arms of Tecumseh stretched out in the heavens at a cer- 
tain time, and then they would know when to begin the war.* 

A short time before daylight the council adjourned, and 
more than half the audience had already resolved to go to 
war against the Americans. Tecumseh visited all the impor- 
tant Creek towns, enlisting all whom he could on the side of 
England. He had much to overcome, in the obstinacy of many 
of the prominent Chiefs, who had become attached to the Fed- 
eral Government, which had lavished upon them munificent 
presents. Yet he was, in a great measure, successful. He made 



* The British officers in Canada had told him when a comet would appear, and that he 
might use that as a sign to delude the Southern Indians. 

33 



514 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

use of gifted and cunning Indians, to carry out his plans, after 
he should have left the country. One of these was Josiah Fran- 
cis, the son of a Creek woman, by a trader of Scotch and Irish 
descent, named David Francis.* The Shawnee prophet, it was 
said, inspired him. He placed him in a cabin by himself, around 
which he danced and howled for ten days. He said that Francis 
was then blind, but that he would again see, and would then know 
all things which were to happen in future. When the ten days 
expired the prophet led him lorth, and attended him all day, for 
Francis stepped high and irregular, like a blind man. Towards 
night the vision of Francis suddenly came to him, and after that 
he was the greatest prophet in the whole Creek nation, and was 
empowered to make many subordinate prophets. Tecumseh 
having made numerous proselytes, once more visited the Big 
Warrior at Tookabatcha, whom he was particularly desirous to 
enlist in his schemes, but whom he had hitherto entreated to no 
effect, although his house was his headquarters. The Big War- 
rior still remained true to the United States, more from fear of 
the consequences of a war than any love he entertained for the 
Americans. Tecumseh, after talking with him for some time to 
no purpose pointed his finger in his face and emphatically said : 
«« Tustinuggee Thlucco, your blood is white. You have taken 
my red sticks and my talk, but you do not mean to fight. I 
know the reason. You do not believe the Great Spirit has sent 
me. You shall believe it. I will leave directly, and go straight to 
Detroit. When I get there I will stamp my foot upon the ground 
and shake down every house in Tookabatcha." The Big 
1812 Warrior said nothing, but puffed his pipe and enveloped 
Nov. himself |in clouds of smoke. Afterwards he thought 
much upon this remarkable speech. 

The common Indians believed every word of Tecumseh's 

* This David Francis lived for many years in the Autauga town, where he had a 
trading establishment. He was also a silversmith, and made buckles, ornaments and 
spurs of silver for the Indians. Josiah, his son. also learned the trade. David Francis 
was a great uncle to Dr. Francis, an intelligent and highly respectable gentleman of 
Benton county, Alabama. 



TECUMSEH — CIVIL WAR AMONG THE CREEKS. 515 

last speech, which was intended solely to intimidate the Big 

Warrior, and they began to count up the time it would 

take the Shawnee Chief to reach Detroit, when he would 1812 

stamp his foot, as he had declared. One day a mighty Dec. 

rumbling was heard in the earth; the houses of Tooka- 

batcha reeled and tottered, and reeled again. The people ran 

out, vociferating, '' Tecumseh has got to Detroit ! We feel the 

shake of his foot !" 

Josiah Francis made many prophets, and, among others, 

High-Head Jim, of Auttose. The Indians began to dance " the 
war-dance of the lakes," which Tecumseh had taught them. In 
the meantime, that Chief had reached Canada, having carried 
with him the Little Warrior, of the Creek nation, with thirty of 
his warriors. The British agents sent back by them letters to 
their agents in Florida, with orders to allow the Creeks extensive 
supplies of arms and ammunition. The Little Warrior, 
in returning, by way of the mouth of the Ohio, attacked 1813 
seven families, living near each other, and murdered Feb. 
them in the most cruel manner. They dragged Mrs. 
Crawley from the bodies of her bleeding children, and brought 
her, a prisoner, to the Tuscaloosa Falls. Being made acquainted 
with these outrages by General Robertson, the Chickasaw agent, 
Hawkins, demanded the punishment of the guilty war- 
riors. A council, at Tookabatcha, secretly despatched Apr. 16 
a party of warriors, headed by Mcintosh, of Coweta, 
who marched to the Hickory Ground, where they separated into 
smaller parties. One of these went to the Red Warrior's Bluff, 
upon the Tallapoosa, now Grey's Ferry, and there surrounded a 
house, and began to shoot at five of the Little Warrior's party. 
They defended themselves with bravery, all the time dancing the 
dance of the lakes. Finally, they were all killed and burnt up. 

* This was an earthquake well known to the old settlers. In relation to the visit of Te- 
cumseh to Alabama, 1 have consulted General Ferdinand L Claiborne's MS. Papers and 
Drake's Life of Tecumseh ; I have also converged with Lachlan Durant, Mrs. Sophia 
McComb, Peter Randon, James Aiooreand others who were at Tookabatcha when Te- 
cumseh arrived there. 



516 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



A party, headed by Captain Isaacs, pursued the Little Warrior 
into a swamp, above Wetumpka, and killed him. Others were 
killed at Hoithlewaule. Although the Chiefs, friendly to the 
United States, acted with so much justice upon this occasion, it 
did not prevent the commission of other murders, more immedi- 
ately at home. An old Chief, named Mormouth, killed Thomas 
Merideth, an emigrant, at Catoma Creek, and wounded others .* 

Having engaged in a war with England, the Federal Gov- 
ernment, fearing to leave the port of Mobile longer in the hands 
of the Spaniards, who were the secret allies of Great Britain, re- 
solved to occupy the whole of the district lying between Pearl 
and the Perdido rivers, and below the line of 31°, which we had 
claimed since the treaty with Bonaparte, who ceded to us Louisi- 
ana, of which this was a part, as was contended. Accordingly, 
General Wilkinson, with six hundred men, of the third and 
seventh regiments, sailing from New Orleans in transport ves- 
sels, commanded by Commodore Shaw, provided with scaling 

ladders, and every necessary equipment, landed opposite 

1813 the Pavilion, on the bay of Mobile. He marched up 

Apr. 13 to the town, and took a position in the rear of Fort 

Charlotte. After some correspondence, the Spanish 
commandant, Captain Cayetano Perez, capitulated, surren- 
dered the fort, and all the cannon and military stores, the 
latter, of which Wilkinson agreed the United States should 
pay for. The Spanish garrison retired to Pensacola, and 
the stars and stripes were hoisted upon the ramparts of 
Fort Charlotte, which was built of brick, with casements 
for five hundred men and with four bastions. It was quite an 
acquisition to the LTnited States at the present time. General 
Wilkinson sent nine pieces of artillery to Mobile Point, which were 
there placed in battery. He then marched to the Perdido, and 
on its western bank, on the main road to Pensacola, began the 
construction of a strong stockade under the superintendence of 

* Indian Affairs, vol. I, pp. 843-845. 



TECUMSEH CIVIL WAR AMONG THE CREEKS. 51' 



Colonel John Bowyer, which was afterwards abandoned. March- 
ing back to Mobile, he despatched Captain Chamberlain with 
soldiers to Mobile Point, who began and in two years completed 
Fort Bowyer.* Thus the long period had arrived when no Span- 
ish government was found to exist upon a foot of the soil of Ala- 
bama or Mississippi. 

The effects of Tecumseh's visit began to be realized in every 
corner of the Creek confederacy. Even at the Falls of Tusca- 
loosa, where a Creek town had for several years been established, 
the inhabitants were extremely belligerent. The Chief, Ocheoce 
Emarthla, with a few warriors, dropped down the Warrior river 
in canoes, paid Mr. Gaines a visit, and were insulting in their 
bearing and importunate in their demands for goods upon a credit. 
They disclosed to Tandy Walker, an honest white man, formerly 
a government blacksmith, their intention shortly to attack the 
settlers and seize upon the factory. In an eastward direction 
the Alabamas were furious advocates of American extermination. 
The Indian executions, to which allusion has just been made, 
connected with the occasional shocks of the earthquake, filled 
the Indian world with excitement and fanaticism. 

Peter McQueen, a half-breed of Tallase, the venerable Ho- 
bothle Micco, and other prominent men, who had inclined to the 
talks of Tecumseh, now assumed decided attitudes. The 
hostile spirit increased fearfully, and the whole nation 1813 
was soon agitated with quarrels, fights, murders and May 
robberies, and everything foreboded a direful civil war. 
The prophets practised their incantations in towns, fields, and in 
the woods, wherever they found Indians to influence. Alarmed 
at this unusual state of things, the Chiefs friendly to the United 
States frequently despatched runners to Hawkins, who urged them 
in return to adhere to the cause of the Federal Government, and to 
take all means to avert a civil war. The agent seems to have been 



berlam 



Memoirs of Wilkinson, vol. 1, pp. 507-520. Conversations with Major Reuben Cham- 



518 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



strangely benighted, slowly allowing his mind to be brought to 
the conviction that anything serious would grow out of these 
difficulties. The Big Warrior, on the contrary, was much alarmed. 
He endeavored to assemblB the Chiefs of the neighboring towns, 
but a majority refused to appear, and continued to give counte- 
nance to the prophets. He despatched a runner to the Alabamas 
with this talk : " You are but a few Alabama people. You say 
that the Great Spirit visits you frequently ; that he comes in the 
sun, and speaks to you ; that the sun comes down just above your 
heads. Now we want to see and hear what you have seen 
and heard. Let us have the same proof, then we will believe. 
You have nothing to fear — the people who did the killing upon 
the Ohio are put to death, and the law is satisfied." The messen- 
ger was seized, killed and scalped at the junction of the Coosa 
and Tallapoosa, where a portion of the war party were engaged 
in "the dance of the lakes." They then paddled clown to Coo- 
sawda, pursued Captain Isaacs into the cane, across the river, and, 
being unable to find him, returned, burnt up his houses, destroyed 
his stock and murdered two of his chief warriors.* The Indians 
also commenced hostilities upon the Americans. Between Burnt 
Corn and the Escambia, Greggs, an American mail- 
1813 rider, was seized, most severely beaten, and left upon 
June the Federal Road, after being robbed of his mail bags 
and horse. Without anything to eat, save the berries 
in the woods, the lacerated youth, after wandering ten days 
through the forests, reached Montgomery Hill. The mail was 
carried to Pensacola and rifled of its contents in a Spanish trad- 
ing house.f Gen. Wilkinson, with his lady, had reached 
June 25 Sam McNac's, near the Catoma, with an escort, which 
had attended him from Mims' Ferry. He wrote back 
to Judge Toulmin, informing him of the dangers attendant upon 
a trip through the Creek nation, but that he was resolved to go 

• Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p. 846. 

t Conversations with Mr. George S. Gaines, of Mobile, and Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, of 
Baldwin county. 



TECUMSEH CIVIL WAR AMONG THE CREEKS. 519 

on to Georgia. In a short time McNac, who for some time lived, 
upon the Federal Road, for the purpose of accommodating trav- 
ellers, was driven off, some of his negroes stolen, while his cattle 
were driven to Pensacola for sale. Other half-breeds, suspected 
of friendship for the Americans, were treated in the same man- 
ner. Remaining concealed for some time upon his island in the 
Alabama, McNac ventured to visit his place upon the road. Here 
he suddenly encountered High- Head Jim, one of the prophets of 
Auttose, who, after shaking him by the hands, began to tremble 
all over, and to jerk in every part of his frame, convulsing the 
calves of the legs, and, from the severe agitation, getting entirely 
out of breath. This practice had been introduced by the prophet 
Josiah Francis, the brother-in-law of McNac, who said he was 
so instructed by the Great Spirit. Wishing to make terms for 
the moment, McNac pretended that he was sorry for his former 
friendship for the whites, and avowed his determination to join 
the hostiles. High-Head Jim, led away by this artifice, disclosed 
to him all their plans ; that they were soon to kill the Big War- 
rior, Captain Isaacs, William Mcintosh, the Mad Dragon's Son, 
the Little Prince, Spoke Kange, and Tallase Fixico, all promi- 
nent Chiefs of the nation ; that, after the death of these traitors, 
the Creeks were to unite, in a common cause, against the Amer- 
icans; those upon the Coosa, Tallapoosa and Black 
Warrior were to attack the settlements upon the Ten- 1813 
saw and Tombigby ; those near the Cherokees, with June 
the assistance of the latter, were to attack the Tennes- 
seans ; the Georgians were to fall by the fierce sallies of the 
Lower Creeks and Seminoles ; while the Choctaws were to ex- 
terminate the Mississippi population. 

The most extravagant delusions prevailed upon the Coosa, 
at this period. Nearly all these people moved out of their towns, 
into the woods, dancing and preparing for war. Letecau, a prophet 
of eighteen years of age, a native of the town of Abaucooche, 
went with eighteen subordinate prophets, to the old Coosa 



520 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

town, from whence they sent out runners, inviting all the un- 
believers to come and witness their magical powers. A large as- 
sembly of both sexes congregated upon the banks of the river, 
and surrounded the prophets. Letecau, with his wand, drew a 
circle in front, and he and his subordinates began "the dance of 
the lakes." After powerful exertions for some time, the war- 
whoop was given by Letecau, who fell, with his men, upon three 
Chiefs, whom they killed. The other friendly Chiefs sprang 
into the'river, made their escape to their towns, and assembling 
their warriors returned and killed Letecau and his prophets. 
They proceeded to Little Ocfuske, where Tecumseh's talk had 
been taken, and there put a number of his deluded followers to 
death. 

The hostiles destroyed the stock of the friendly Indians, at 
the Hiilabee towns, several of whom they killed. They carried 
off seventy negroes belonging to Robert Graison, and 
1813 committed many other depredations. The town of 
June Kialigee was burned down, and several of the inhabi- 
tants shot. These things overwhelmed the Big Warrior 
with fear, and he entreated Hawkins to relieve him with the 
federal troops. He had collected a large supply of corn at 
Tookabatcha, where he built a fort. Hawkins prevailed upon 
two hundred warriors of Coweta and Cussetta, to march to 
Tookabatcha, where they soon arrived, and, after some annoy- 
ance from the attacks of a few of the war party, succeeded in 
carrying off the Big Warrior, and those who adhered to him, in 
safety over to the Chattahoochie.* 

* Upon the civil war among the Creeks, see Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 849 851. 



Gcn^Claihorne s- hruff quarters 




WAR IN 
SOUTH ALABAMA, ; 






c 



/* tf/3rms/ MM. 



/ 



/ 







CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Battle of Burnt Corn — Arrival of General Claiborne's 

Army. 

Peter McQueen, at the head of the Tallase warriors ; High- 
Head Jim, with the Autaugas ; and Josiah Francis, with the 
Alabamas, numbering in all three hundred and fifty, departed 
for Pensacola with many pack-horses. On their way they beat 
and drove off all the Indians who would not take the 
war talk. The brutal McQueen beat an unoffending 1813 
white trader within an inch of his life, and carried the July 10 
wife of Curnells, the government interpreter, a prisoner 
to Pensacola. The village of Hatchechubba was reduced to 
ashes. 

The inhabitants of the Tombigby and the Tensaw had con- 
stantly petitioned the governor for an army to repel the Creeks, 
whose attacks they hourly expected. But General Flournoy, 
who had succeeded Wilkinson in command, refused to send any 
of the regular or volunteer troops. The British fleet was seen 
off the coast, from which supplies, arms, ammunition and Indian 
emissaries were sent to Pensacola and other Spanish ports in 
Florida. Everything foreboded the extermination of the Ameri- 
cans in Alabama, who were the most isolated and defenceless 
people imaginable. Determined, however, to protect themselves 
to the best of their means and abilities, they first sent spies to 
Pensacola to watch the movements of the Indians there under 
McQueen, who returned with the report that the British agents 
were distributing to them ample munitions of Avar. Colonel 
James Caller ordered out the militia, some of whom soon rallied 

521 



522 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

to his standard in the character of minute volunteers. He 
marched across the Tombigby, passed through the town of Jack- 
son, and by the new fort upon the eastern line of Clarke, and 
from thence to Sisemore's Ferry, upon the Alabama, where, on 
the western bank, he bivouacked for the night. The object of 
the expedition was to attack the Indians as they were returning 
from Pensacola. The next morning Caller began the crossing 
of the river to the east side, which was effected by swimming 

the horses by the side of the canoes. It occupied much 

1813 of the early part of the day. When all were over the 

July 26 march was resumed in a southeastern direction to the 

cow-pens of David Tait, where a halt was made. Here 
Caller was reinforced by a company from Tensaw Lake and 
Little River, under the command of Dixon Bailey, a half-breed 
Creek, a native of the town of Auttose, who had been edu- 
cated at Philadelphia under the provisions of the treaty of 
New York of 1790. Bailey was a man of fine appearance, 
unimpeachable integrity, and a strong mind. His courage 
and energy were not surpassed by those of any other man. 
The whole expedition under Caller now consisted of one hun- 
dred and eighty men, in small companies. Two of these were 
from St. Stephens, one of which was commanded by Captain 
Bailey Heard, and the other by Captain Benjamin Smoot and 
Lieutenant Patrick May. A company, from the county of Wash- 
ington, was commanded by Captain David Cartwright. In pass- 
ing through Clarke county, Caller had been re-inforced by a 
company under Captain Samuel Dale and Lieutenant Girard W. 
Creagh. Some men had also joined him, commanded by William 
McGrew, Robert Caller, and William Bradberry. The troops of 
the little party were mounted upon good frontier horses, and pro- 
vided with rifles and shot-guns, of various sizes and descriptions. 
Leaving the cow-pens, Caller marched until he reached the wolf- 
trail, where he bivouacked for the last night. The main route to 
Pensacola was now before them. 



BATTLE OF BURNT CORN. 523 

In the morning, the command was re-organized, by the elec- 
tion of Zachariah Philips, McFarlin, Wood, and Jourdan, to the 
rank of major, and William McGrew, lieutenant-colonel. 
This unusual number of field officers was made to satisfy 1813 
military aspirations. While on the march, the spy com- July 27 
pany returned rapidly, about 11 o'clock in the forenoon, 
and reported that McQueen's party were encamped a few miles 
in advance, and were engaged in cooking and eating. A consul- 
tation of officers terminated in the decision to attack the Indians 
by surprise. The command was thrown into three divisions — 
Captain Smoot in front of the right, Captain Bailey in front of 
the centre, and Captain Dale in front of the left. The Indians 
occupied a peninsula of low pine barren, formed by the windings 
of Burnt Corn Creek. Some gently rising heights overlooked 
this tongue of land, down which Caller charged upon them. Al- 
though taken by surprise, the Indians repelled the assault for a 
few minutes, and then gave way, retreating to the creek. A por- 
tion of the Americans bravely pursued them to the water, while 
others remained behind, engaged in the less laudable enterprise 
of capturing the Indian pack-horses. Caller acted with bravery, 
but, unfortunately, ordered a retreat to the high lands, where he 
intended to take a strong position. Seeing those in advance re- 
treating from the swamp, about one hundred of the command, 
who had been occupied, as we have stated, in securing Indian 
effects, now precipitately fled, in great confusion and terror, but, 
in the midst of their dismay, held on to the plunder, driving the 
horses before them. Colonel Caller, Captain Bailey, and other 
officers, endeavored to rally them in vain. The Indians rushed 
forth from the swamp, with exulting yells, and attacked about 
eighty Americans, who remained at the foot of the 
hill. A severe fight ensued, and the whites, now com- 1813 
manded by Captains Dale, Bailey and Smoot, fought July 27 
with laudable courage, exposed to a galling fiie, in 
open woods, while McQueen and his warriors were protected 



524 history of Alabama. 



by thick reeds. The latter, however, discharged their pieces 
very un skillfully. Captain Dale received a large ball in the 
breast, which, glancing around a rib, came out at his back. 
He continued to fight as long as the battle lasted. At length, 
abandoned by two-thirds of the command, while the enemy 
had the advantage of position, the Americans resolved to 
retreat, which they did in great disorder. Many had lost 
their horses, for they had dismounted when the attack was made, 
and now ran in all directions to secure them or get up behind 
others. Many actually ran off on foot. After all these had left 
the field three young men were found still fighting by them- 
selves on one side of the peninsula, and keeping at bay some sav- 
ages who were concealed in the cane. They were Lieutenant 
Patrick May, of North Carolina, now of Greene county, Alabama, 
a descendant of a brave revolutionary family ; a private named 
Ambrose Miles and Lieutenant Cirard W. Creagh, of South Car- 
olina. A warrior presented his tall form. May and the savage 
discharged their guns at each other. The Indian fell dead in the 
cane; his lire, however, had shattered the lieutenant's piece near 
the lock. Resolving also to retreat, these intrepid young men 
made a rush for their horses, when Creagh, brought to the ground 
by the effects of a wound which he received in the hip, cried out, 
" Save me, lieutenant, or I am gone!" May instantly raised him 
lip, bore him off on his back and placed him in the saddle, while 
Miles held the bridle reins. A rapid retreat saved their lives. 
Reaching the top of the hill they saw Lieutenant Bradberry, a 
young lawyer of North Carolina, bleeding with his wounds, and 
endeavoring to rally some of his men. The Indians, 
1*13 reaching the body of poor Ballad, took off his scalp in 
.Inly 27 full view, which so incensed his friend Glass that he ad- 
vanced and fired the last gun upon them. 
The retreat was continued all night in the most irregular 
manner, and the trail was lined, from one end to the other, with 
small squads, and sometimes one man by himself. The wounded 



BATTLE OF BURNT CORN. 525 

traveled slowly, and often stopped to rest. It was afterwards 
ascertained that only two Americans were killed and fifteen 
wounded. Such was the battle of Burnt Corn, the first that was 
fought in the long and bloody Creek war. The Indians retraced 
their steps to Pensacola for more military supplies. Their num- 
ber of killed is unknown. Caller's command never got together 
again, but mustered themselves out of service, returning to their 
homes by various routes, after many amusing adventures. Col- 
onel Caller and Major Wood became lost, and wandered on foot 
in the forest, causing great uneasiness to their friends. When 
General Claiborne arrived in the country he wrote to Bailey, Tait 
and McNac, respectable half-breeds, urging them to hunt for 
these unfortunate men. They were afterwards found, starved 
almost to death and bereft of their senses. They had been miss- 
ing fifteen days.* 

General Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, the brother of the 
ex-Governor of the Mississippi Territory, was born in Sussex 
county, Virginia, of a family distinguished in that common- 
wealth from the time of Charles I. On the 21st November, 
1793, in his twentieth year, he was appointed an ensign in 
Wayne's army on the Northwestern frontier. He was in the 
s:reat battle in which that able commander soon after defeated 
the Indians, and for his good conduct, was promoted to a lieu- 
tenancy. At the close of the war he was stationed at Richmond 
and Norfolk, in the recruiting service, and subsequently was or- 
dered to Pittsburg, Forts Washington, Greenville and Detroit, 
where he remained with the rank of captain and acting adjutant- 
general until 1805, when he resigned and removed to Natchez. 
He was soon afterwards a member of the Territorial legislature, 
and presided over its deliberations. We have already seen how 
active he was in arresting Aaron Burr, upon the Mississippi 
river, at the head of infantry and cavalry. On the 8th March, 

•Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, of Baldwin county, Alabama, the late 
Colonel Girard W. Creairh, of Clarke, and General Patrick iMay, of Greene, who were in 
the Hurnt Corn expedition. 



526 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

1813, Colonel Claiborne was appointed brigadier-general of vol- 
unteers, and was ordered by General Wilkinson to take com- 
mand of the post of Baton Rouge. In the latter part of July he 
was ordered by General Flournoy to march with his whole com- 
mand bo Fort Stoddart, and instructed to direct his principal at- 
tention to " the defence of Mobile.'''' 

()n the 80th July, General Claiborne reached Mount Vernon 
near the Mobile river with the rear guard of his army, 

isi3 consisting of seven hundred men, whom he had chiefly 

July 80 sustained by supplies raised by mortgages upon his 
own estate.* The quartermaster at Baton Rouge had 
only provided him with the small sum of two hundred dollars. 
II(i obtained, from the most reliable characters upon the eastern 
frontier, accurate information in regard to the threatened in- 
vasion of the Indians, an account of the unfortunate result of the 
Burnt Corn expedition, and a written opinion of Judge Toulmin, 
respecting the critical condition of the country generally. It 
was found that alarm pervaded the populace. Rumors of the 
advance of the Indians were rife, and were believed. In Clarke 
county — in the fork of the rivers — a chain of rude defences had 
hastily been constructed by the citizens, and were filled to over- 
flowing with white people and negroes. One of these was at 
Gullett's Bluff, upon the Tombigby, another at Kasley's station, 
and the others at the residences of Sinquefield, Glass, White and 
Lavier. They were all called torts. Two block-houses were also 
in a state of completion, at St. Stephens. 

The first step taken by Claiborne was the distribution of his 

troops, so as to afford the greatest protection to the in- 

181:; habitants, lie despatched Colonel Carson, with two 

Aug. lo hundred men, to the Fork, who arrived at Fort Glass 

without accident. A few hundred yards from that rude 

* Upon the conclusion of the Creek war General Claiborne returned to Soldier's Re- 
treat, hi* borne, oear Natchez, shattered in constitution, from the exposure and bard* 
sinps of the campaigns and died suddenly a1 the ri<>se of 1815. The vouchers for the 
liberal expenditures which he made were lost and iiis property was sold, 



BATTLE OF BURNT CORN. 527 



structure he began the construction of Fort Madison. He sent 
Captain Scott to St. Stephens with a company, which immediate- 
ly occupied the old Spanish block-house. He employed Major 
Hinds, with the mounted dragoons, in scouring the coun- 
try, while he distributed some of the militia of Wash- 1813 
ington county for the defence of the stockade. Captain Aug. 22 
Dent was despatched to Oaktupa, where he assumed 
the command of a fort with two block-houses within a mile of 
the Choctaw line.* 



* MS. papers of General F. L. Claiborne. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Terrible Massacre at Fort Mims. 

In the meantime, the wealthy half-bloods about Little river 
had dropped down the Alabama, in their boats, and had secreted 
themselves in the swamp about Lake Tensaw. Uniting with the 
whites, they soon began the construction of a fort around the 
residence of Samuel Mims, a wealthy Indian countryman, to 
whom we have often alluded, and who, originally, was one of the 
pack-horsemen of the Honorable George Galphin. 

Being about to relate a horrible affair, in which people of 
all ages and both sexes were subjected to savage butchery, a par- 
ticular description of the place where it occurred is deemed nec- 
essary. Mims lived within four hundred yards of the Boat Yard, 
upon Lake Tensaw, a mile east of the Alabama river, and two 
miles below the Cut-Off. His house was a large frame building 
of one story, with spacious shed-rooms. Around it pickets were 
driven, between which fence rails were placed. Five hundred 
port-holes were made, three and a half feet only from the ground. 
The stockading enclosed an acre of ground, in a square form, and 
was entered by two ponderous but rude gates, one on the east 
and the other on the west. Within the enclosure, besides the 
main building, were various out-houses, rows of bee-gums, to- 
gether with cabins and board shelters, recently erected by the 
settlers, wherever a vacant spot appeared. At the southwest 
corner a block-house was begun, but never finished. This de- 
fence was situated on a very slight elevation. A large potato 
field lay adjoining on the south, in which were a row of negro 
houses. Woods intervened between the picketing and the lake, 

528 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT M1MS. 529 



while in a northern direction cane swamps, which grew denser 
as they approached the river, were hard by. On the east the flat 
lands continued for several miles, interspersed with cane marshes 
and some ravines. It was altogether a most ill-chosen place for 
a fort, as it ultimately proved.* 

No sooner was Fort Mims partially finished than the citizens 
poured in, with their provisions and effects. Colonel 
Carson, who had reached Mount Vernon in advance of 1813 
Claiborne, sent over Lieutenant Osborne, with sixteen July 28 
men. Afterwards Claiborne despatched one hundred 
and seventy-five more volunteers to Fort Mims under the com- 
mand of Major Daniel Beasley, with Captains Jack, Batch elor 
and Middleton. He found seventy militia upon duty, 
commanded, for the present, by Dunn and Plummer, Aug. 6 
two inexperienced officers. Permitting them to elect 
their officers, the brave Dixon Bailey was unanimously chosen 

for the post of captain, and Crawford for ensign. 

The next day General Claiborne, arriving at Fort Mims Aug. 7 
and inspecting the works, addressed a general order of 
instruction to Beasley, charging him i4 to strengthen the picket- 
ing, build two more block-houses, respect the enemy, to send out 
scouts frequently, and allow the suffering people provisions, 
whether whites or friendly Indians." Returning to his headquar- 
ters, at Mount Vernon, he, for the moment, directed his attention 
to other portions of the frontiers.! In the meantime, Major 
Beasley had extended the picketing on the east side sixty feet 
deep, forming a separate apartment for the accommodation of 
the officers and their baggage. He greatly weakened his com- 
mand by sending small detachments to Forts Madison, Easley, 
Pierce, and Joshua Kennedy's saw-mill, where citizens had col- 
lected, and asked for assistance. t At this mill the government 
had a large contract for lumber to put Fort Charlotte, of Mobile, 

* Conversations with Dr. Thomas (J . Holmes, of Baldwin. 

t Claiborne's MS. papers. + Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes. 

34 



530 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



in repair, and build a fort at Mobile Point, and it was deemed 
necessary to strengthen it with troops to prevent the Indians 
from burning it down.* 

The whole population of Fort Mims, consisting of whites, 
Indians, soldiers, officers and negroes, now amounted to five hun- 
dred and fifty three souls. Crowded together in an Alabama 
swamp, in the month of August, much sickness prevailed.! In 
the meantime, Crawford was dismissed from the post of 
1813 ensign for having deserted from the regular army, and 
Aug. 14 Peter Randon, a half-breed, was appointed in his place. 
Beasley kept up a correspondence with Claiborne, sev- 
eral times acquainting him with alarms, which turned out to be 
false.? 

The Creeks, whom we left returning to Pensacola from the 
battle ground of Burnt Corn, were again liberally supplied with 
arms and ammunition. Making their way back to the Talla- 
poosa without molestation, active preparations were made by them 
for immediate war. Warriors from the towns of Hoithlewale, 
Fooshatshe, Cooloome, Ecunhutke, Souvanoga, Mooklausa, Ala- 
bama, Oakchoieooche, Pockuschatche, Ochebofa, Puckuntalla- 
hasse, Wewocoe and Woccocoie marched in a southern direc- 
tion, while others, from Tallase, Auttose and Ocfuske, formed a 
front of observation towards Coweta to conceal the movements 

Associated with McQueen and Francis was William Weatb- 
erford, the son of Charles Weatherford, a Georgian, who had 
lived almost a life-time in the Creek nation. His mother, Sehoy, 
was the half-sister of General McGillivray, and a native of Hick- 
ory Ground. William was uneducated, but was a man of great 
native intellect, fine form and commanding person. His bearing 
was gentlemanly and dignified, and was coupled with an intelli- 

* Claiborne's MS. papers. 

t Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes. $ Claiborne's MS. papers. 

§ Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p 8)8. The Spaniards and the British agents charged McQueen's 
party to " fight the Americans. If they prove too hard for you, send your women and 
children to Pensacola, and we will send them to Havana; and if you should be compelled 
to fly yourselves, and the Americans should prove too hard for both of us, there are ves- 
sels enough to take us all off together." — Ibid. 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS. 531 

gent expression, which led strangers to suppose that they were 
in the presence of no ordinary man. His eyes were large, dark, 
brilliant and flashing. He was one of "nature's noblemen" — a 
man of strict honor and unsurpassed courage. He was now with 
the large Indian army, conducting them down to attack the Ten- 
saw settlers, among whom were his brother and several sisters, 
and also his half-brother, David Tait.* How unhappily were 
these people divided ! His sister, Hannah McNac, with all her 
sons, belonged to the war party, while the husband was a true 
friend of the Americans, and had fled to them for pro- 
tection. Weatherford led his army to the plantation 1813 
of Zachariah McGirth, a little below the present Clai- Aug. 20 
borne, where, capturing several negroes, among whom 
was an intelligent fellow named Joe, from whom they learned 
the condition of Fort Mims, and the proper time to attack it, he 
halted for several days to deliberate. One of the negroes 
escaped, and conveyed intelligence to the fort of the approach 
of the Indians. Major Beasley had continued to send out scouts 
daily, who were unable to discover traces of the enemy. The 
inmates had become inactive, free from alarm, and aban- 
doned themselves to fun and frolic. The negro runner from 
McGirth's plantation now aroused them for a time, and Fort 
Mims was further strengthened. But the Indians not appearing 
the negro was pronounced to be a liar, and the activity of the 
garrison again abated. At length two young negro men 
were sent out to mind some beef cattle that grazed upon 1813 
the luxuriant grass within a few miles of the fort. Sud- Aug. 29 
denly they came rushing through the gate out of breath, 
and reported that they had counted twenty-four painted war- 
riors. Captain Middleton, with a detachment of horse, was im- 
mediately despatched with the negroes to the place, but being 
unable to discover the least sign of the enemy, returned about 

* David Tait was the son of Colonel Tait, a British officer, who was stationed at the 
Hickory Ground, upon the Coosa, in 1778, as we have seen. 



532 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

sunset, when one of the negroes, belonging to John Randon, was 
tied up and severely flogged for alarming the garrison, with what 
Major Beasley deemed a sheer fabrication. Fletcher, the owner 
of the other, refused to permit him to be punished, because he 
believed his statement, which so incensed the major that he or- 
dered him, with his large family, to depart from the fort by J 

o'clock the next day. The next morning Randon's negro 
Aug. 30 was again sent out to attend the cattle, but seeing a 

large body of Indians fled to Fort Pierce, being afraid to 
communicate the intelligence to those who had whipped him. In 
the meantime Fletcher's negro, by the reluctant consent of his 
master, was tied up and the lash about to be applied to his back ; 
the officers were preparing to dine; the soldiers were reposing on 
the ground ; some of the settlers were playing cards ; the girls 
and young men were dancing, while a hundred thoughtless and 
happy children sported from door to door, and from tent to tent. 
At that awful moment one thousand Creek warriors, extended 
flat upon the ground in a thick ravine, four hundred yards from 
the eastern gate, thirsted for American blood. No eyes saw them 
but those of the chirping and innocent birds in the limbs above 
them. The mid-day sun sometimes flashed through the thick 
foilage, and glanced upon their yellow skins, but quickly with- 
drew, as if afraid longer to contemplate the murderous horde. 
There lay the prophets, covered with feathers, with black faces, 
resembling those monsters which partake of both beast and bird. 
Beside them lay curious medicine bags and rods of magic. The 
whole ravine was covered with painted and naked savages, com- 
pletely armed. 

The hour of 12 o'clock arrived, and the drum beat the officers 

and the soldiers of the garrison to dinner. Then, by one 

1813 simultaneous bound, the ravine was relieved of its sav- 

Aug. 30 age burden, and soon the field resounded with the rapid 

tread of the bloody warriors. The sand had washed 
against the eastern gate, which now lay open. Major Beasley 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS. 533 

rushed, sword in hand, and essayed in vain to shut it. The In- 
dians felled him to the earth with their clubs and tomahawks, 
and rushing over his body into the additional part of the fort, 
left him a chance to crawl behind the gate, where he shortly 
after expired. To the last he called upon the men to make 
a resolute resistance. The eastern part of the picketing was 
soon full of Indians, headed by five prophets, whom the 
Americans immediately shot down, while engaged in dancing 
and incantations. This greatly abated the ardor of the enemy, 
many of whom retreated through the gate for the moment. 
They had been assured that American bullets would split upon 
the sacred persons of the prophets, and pass off harmless. The 
unhappy inmates of Fort Mims now made all efforts to defend 
the place, but their attempts were confused and ineffective. The 
assailants, from the old line of picketing, in the additional part 
of the fort, and from the outside stockading, commenced a general 
fire upon the Americans. Soldiers, negroes, women and children 
fell. Captain Middleton, in charge of the eastern section, was 
soon despatched, together with all his men. Captain Jack, on 
the south wing, with a company of riflemen, defended his posi- 
tion with great bravery. Lieutenant Randon fought from the 
guard-house, on the west, while Captain Dixon Bailey repulsed 
the enemy, to the best of his ability, on the northern line of 
pickets, against which much the largest number of Indians oper- 
ated. The number of savages was so great that they 
apparently covered the whole field, and they now rent 1813 
the air with their exulting shouts. Many of the younger Aug. 30 
prophets surrounded the main building, which was full 
of women and children, and danced around it, distorting their 
faces, and sending up the most unearthly screams. The pickets 
and houses afforded the Americans some protection, where the 
young men, the aged, and even the boys, fought with despera- 
tion. Captain Bailey was the man to whom the eyes of all the 
settlers were turned at this critical moment. He maintained his 



534 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

position, and was the only officer who gained the port-holes be- 
fore they were occupied by the enemy. His repeated discharges 
made lanes through the savage ranks. Fresh numbers renewed 
their efforts against him, and often an Indian and an American 
would plant their guns across the same port-hole to shoot at each 
other. Bailey encouraged the whole population in the fort to 
right, assuring them that Indians seldom fought long at one 
time, and, by holding out for a little while longer, many would 
be saved. Failing in his entreaties to prevail upon several to 
rush through the enemy to Fort Pierce, only two miles distant, 
there procure reinforcements, and attack the assailants in the 
rear, he resolved to go himself, and began to climb over the 
pickets for that purpose ; but his neighbors, who loved him 
dearly, pulled him back. 

About three o'clock, the Indians, becoming tired of the con- 
test, plundered the additional part of the fort, and began to carry 
off the effects to the house of Mrs. O'Neil, which lay three hun- 
dred yards distant, on the road to the ferry. Weatherford over- 
took them, on a fine black horse, and brought them back to the 

scene of action, after having impressed them by an ani- 

1813 mated address. About this time, Dr. Osborne, the sur- 

Aug. 30 geon, was shot through the body, and carried into 

Patrick's loom-house, where he expired in great agony. 
The women now animated the men to defend them, by assist- 
ing in loading the guns and bringing water from the well. 
The most prominent among these was Mrs. Daniel Bailey, 
who, provoked at the cowardice of Sergeant Mathews, severely 
punctured him with a bayonet as he lay trembling against 
the wall. Many instances of unrivalled courage could be 
enumerated, if our space permitted it. One of Jack's sol- 
diers retreated to the half-finished block-house, after his com- 
mander and all his brothers-in-arms had fallen, and from that 
point, discharged his gun at intervals, until he had killed over 
a dozen warriors. James and Daniel Bailey, the brothers of the 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS. 535 

gallant Captain, with other men, ascended to the roof of Mims' 
dwelling, knocked oft" some shingles for port-holes, where they 
continued to shoot the lusty warriors on the outside of the pick- 
eting. But the superior force of the assailants enabled them 
constantly to bring fresh warriors into the action. They now 
set fire to the main building, and many of the out-houses. The 
shrieks of the women and children went up to high heaven. 

To Patrick's loom-house had been attached some extra pick- 
eting, forming what was improperly termed a bastion. Hither 
Captain Bailey, and those of his command who survived, en- 
tered and continued to pour upon the savages a most deadly tire. 
Many citizens attempted to reach that spot, now the only one of 
the least security. The venerable David Mims, attempting to 
pass to the bastion, received a large ball in the neck ; the blood 
gushed out ; he exclaimed : " Oh, God, I am a dead man I" 
and fell upon his face. A cruel warrior cut around his head, 
and waved his hoary scalp exultingly in the air. Some poor 
Spaniards, who had deserted from the Pensacela garrison, 
kneeled around the well and crossed themselves, and, while in- 
terceding with the Most High, were despatched with toma- 
hawks. " To the bastion! to the bastion!" was now 
the fearful cry of the survivors. Soon it was full to 1813 
overflowing. The weak, wounded and feeble, were Aug. 30 
pressed to death and trodden under foot. The spot pre- 
sented the appearance of one immense mass of human beings, 
herded together too close to defend themselves, and, like beeves 
in the slaughter-pen of the butcher, a prey to those who fired 
upon them. The large building had fallen, carrying with it the 
scorched bodies of the Baileys and others on the roof, and the 
large number of women and children in the lower story. The 
flames began to reach the people in the bastion. Dr. Thomas G. 
Holmes, an assistant surgeon in the garrison, seized an axe, cut 
some pickets in two, but did not take them down, suffering them 
to remain until a suitable opportunity offered to escape. The 



536 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

brave Dixon Bailey now cried aloud that all was lost, that his 
family were to be butchered, and begged all to make their es- 
cape, if possible. His negro man, Tom, (still living, at Sise- 
more's plantation) took up his favorite son, who was thirteen 
years of age, but feeble with the fever, and bore him through the 
pickets, which Holmes now threw down, and gained the woods 
in safety. But, strange to say, the infatuated negro presently 
brought back the poor boy to a squad of hostiles, who dashed 
out his brains with war-clubs. Little Ralph cried out, " Father, 
father, save me!" Of his Heavenly Father the poor little 
heathen had probably never heard. 

In front of the northern line of picketing was a fence, fifty 
yards distant, in every lock of which many warriors had 
placed themselves, to cut off all retreat; besides which, others 
stationed themselves at various points to shoot those who 
should run. Dr. Holmes, Captain Bailey, and a negro wo- 
man named Hester, the property of Benjamin Steadham, 
were the first to escape through the aperture. Holmes, receiv- 
ing in his flight several balls through his clothes, but no wounds, 
strangely made his way over the fence, gained the swamp, 
and concealed himself in a clay hole, formed by the 
1813 prostration of an immense tree. Bailey reached the 
Aug. 30 swamp, but, being badly wounded, died by the side of 
a cypress stump. Hester received a severe wound in 
the breast, but reached a canoe in the lake, paddled to Fort Stod- 
dart that night, and was the first to give intelligence to General 
Claiborne of the horrible affair. 

Returning again to the fatal spot, every house was seen to 
be in flames. The bastion was broken down, the helpless inmates 
were butchered in the quickest manner, and blood and brains be- 
spattered the whole earth. The children were seized by the legs 
and killed by beating their heads against the stockading. The 
women were scalped, and those who were pregnant were opened, 
while they were alive, and the embryo infants let out of the 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MEMS. 537 

womb. Weatherford had some time previous left the horrid 
scene. He had implored the warriors to spare the women and 
children, and reproached them for their barbarity ; but his own 
life was threatened for interposing, many clubs were raised over 
his head, and he was forced to retire. In after years he never 
thought of that bloody occasion without the most painful emo- 
tions. He had raised the storm, but he could not control it. 

The British agents at Pensacola had offered a reward of five 
dollars for every American scalp. The Indians jerked the skin 
from the whole head, and, collecting all the effects 
which the fire had not consumed, retired to the east, 1813 
one mile from the ruins, to spend the night, where Aug. 30 
they smoked their pipes and trimmed and dried their 
scalps. The battle had lasted from twelve to five o'clock. 

Of the large number in the fort, all were killed or burned up 
except a few hall-bloods, who were made prisoners; some ne- 
groes, reserved for slaves ; and the following persons, who made 
their escape and lived : Dr. Thomas G. Holmes ; Hester, a negro 
woman : Socca, a friendly Indian ; Peter Randon, lieutenant of 
Citizens' company; Josiah Fletcher; Sergeant Mathews, the 

coward; Martin Rigdon ; Samuel Smith, a half-breed; 

Mourrice, Joseph Perry, Mississippi volunteers ; Jesse Steadham ; 

Edward Steadham; John Hoven ; Jones; and Lieutenant 

W. R. Cham bliss, of the Mississippi volunteers. 

Dr. Holmes lay concealed in the clay hole until nine o'clock 
at night. The Gin -House at the Boat Yard had been fired, and 
the conflagration threw a light over the surrounding country in 
addition" to that still afforded by the ruins of Fort Mims. Hence, 
he was forced to resume his position, until twelve o'clock, when 
the flames died away. Remembering that he had never learned 
to swim, he abandoned the idea which he first entertained, of 
crossing the Alabama and making his way to Mount Vernon. 
He therefore bent his course towards the high lands. He 
frequently came upon small Indian fires, around which the 



538 HISTORY OP ALABAMA. 

bloody warriors lay in profound sleep. Bewildered and shoeked 
in every direction in which he turned by unwelcome and 
fearful sights like these, he at length, after a great deal of 
winding and turning, fell back into the river swamp, hid in a 
clump of thick canes, and there subsisted upon water, mutton 
reed and roots. All this time he was in the immediate neigh- 
borhood of the scene of the tragical events we have described, 
and beard distinctly the Indians killing the stock of the citizens. 
When silence ensued, after the fifth day, he made his way to the 
Race-Track, and from thence to Pine- Log Creek, where he spent 
the night. Reaching Buford's Island the next day, and seeing 
the tracks of people and horses, he determined to fall in with 
them, although they should prove to be hostile Indians, so desper- 
ate had he become from starvation. At the Tensaw Lake, Holmes 
found the horses tied, and, rejoicing to find that they belonged 
to his friends, fired off his gun. John Buford and his party, 
supposing the discharge proceeded from the war party, fled up 
into a bayou in a boat, where they remained two days. The dis- 
appointed Holmes went to the abandoned house of Buford, where 
he fortunately obtained some poultry, which he devoured without 
cooking. Three days afterwards he was discovered by Captain 
Buford and conveyed to Mount Vernon, where the other four- 
teen who escaped had arrived and reported him among the slain. 

Martin Rigdon, Samuel Smith, Joseph Terry, Mourrice 

and Jesse Steadham escaped through the picketing together. 
The latter was shot through the thigh early in the action, and 
Mourrice in the shoulder. Leaping the fence in front of the bas- 
tion, over the heads of the squatting Indians, they reached the 
swamp, where they remained three days, when, finding an old 
canoe below the Boat Yard, they made their escape to Mount 
Vernon. Edward Steadham, who was wounded in the hand 
while flying from the bastion, entered the swamp, swam the 
Alabama above the Cut-Off, and arrived at Mount Vernon four 
days after the massacre. All the others who escaped so miracu- 



TEEE1BLB MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS. 539 

lously made their way with success through the Indian ranks, 
and had many similar adventures, reaching the American head- 
quarters at the most imminent peril. Lieutenant Chambliss had 
received two severe wounds in the fort, and in running across 
the field received another. Reaching the woods, he crept into a 
log-heap. At night a party of warriors set fire to it, for the pur- 
pose of smoking their pipes, and when the heat was becoming 
intolerable, and he would soon have been forced to discover him- 
self, they fortunately were called off to another camp-fire. He 
left that place immediately, wandered about, and for a long time 
was supposed to be dead. He made his way, however, to Mount 
Vernon, and from thence went to Soldiers' Retreat, the residence 
of General Claiborne, near Natchez, where Dr. John Coxe, an 
eminent surgeon, extracted two arrow-heads and a ball from his 
body.* 

The day after the fall of Fort Mims the Indians began to 
bury their dead, by laying their bodies between the potatoe- 
rows and drawing dirt and vines over them ; but, from the 
great number of the dead, it was abandoned. Many were 
also wounded, who were put in canoes and conveyed up the river. 
Others wounded started borne oq foot, and died at Burnt Corn 
Spring. Most of those who were unhurt remained in the neigh- 
borhood to kill and plunder, while another party went to Pensa- 
cola with the scalps suspended upon poles. f 

Zachariah McGirth was the son of James McGirth, who was, 
as we have seen, an unprincipled but brave man, and a captain 
of a company of tories during the revolutionary war, called the 
" Florida Rangers," forming a part of a battalion commanded by 
his brother, Colonel Daniel McGirth. When the war terminated 
Captain James McGirth fled to the Creek nation, with his chil- 

* Claiborne's .MS. papers. 

t I am indebted to Dr. Thomas (;. Holmes, of Baldwin county, Alabama, lor the prom- 
inent facts in the foregoing narrative of the tail of Port Mims. He made notes oi the 
horrible affair a few yean alter the massacre took place, while the facta wrere fresh in 
his memory. I also conversed with Jesse Steadbam, of Baldwin, and Lieutenant Peter 
Kamlon. the latter of whom I found m Xew Orleans, who also escaped. 



540 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



dren, among whom was Zachariah. The latter married a half- 
breed Creek woman, named Vicey Curnells, had become wealthy, 
and was now an inmate of Fort Mims with his wife and eight 
children. About ten o'clock on the day of the massacre McGirth 
entered a boat with two of his negroes, and went out of Lake 

Tensaw into the Alabama, with the view of ascending 

1813 that river to his plantation, which was situated below 

Aug. 30 Claiborne, for some provisions. Reaching the Cut-Off 

he heard a heavy discharge of guns at Fort Mims. With 
pain and anxiety he continued to listen to the firing, and running 
his boat a mile down the river, in a small bayou, resolved to re- 
main there, being firmly impressed with the belief that the In- 
dians had attacked the fort. Late in the evening the firing- 
ceased, and presently he saw clouds of black smoke rise above 
the forest trees, which was succeeded by flames. The unhappy 
McGirth now well knew that all was lost, and that in all proba- 
bility his family had perished in the flames. Being a bold man, 
like his father, he resolved to go through the swamp with his 
negroes to the fatal spot. When he came within a quarter of a 
mile of the fort he placed the negroes in a concealed place, and 
approached alone. All was gloomy and horrible. Dogs in great 
numbers ran all over the woods, terrified beyond measure. See- 
ing that the savages had left the ruins, he returned for his negroes, 
and a little after twilight cautiously advanced. McGirth stood 
aghast at the horrible spectacle. Bodies lay in piles, in the sleep 
of death, bleeding, scalped, mutilated. His eyes everywhere fell 

upon forms half burned up, but still cracking and frying 

1813 upon the glowing coals. In vain did he and his faithful 

Aug. 30 slaves seek for the bodies of his family. Pile after pile 

was turned over, but no discovery could be made, for 
the features of but few could be recognized. He turned his back 
upon the bloody place, crossed the swamp to his boat, and pad- 
dled down the Alabama to Mount Vernon with a sad and heavy 
heart. 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS. 541 

McGirth, now alone in the world, became a desperate man, 
ready to brave the greatest dangers for the sake of revenge. 
During the Creek war he was often employed in riding ex- 
presses from the Tombigby to Georgia, when no one else 
could be found daring enough to go through the heart of the 
enemy's country. After a long service amid such dangers, a 
friend accosted him one day in Mobile, and told him some people 
desired to see him at the wharf. Repairing there, he saw — a 
common sight in those days — some wretched Indians, who had 
been captured. He was asked if he knew them. Hesitating, 
his wife and seven children advanced and embraced him. A tor- 
rent of joy and profound astonishment overwhelmed him. He 
trembled like a leaf, and was, for some minutes, speechless. 

Many years before the dreadful massacre at Fort Mims, a 
little hungry Indian boy, named Sanota — an orphan, houseless 
and friendless — stopped at the house of Vicey McGirth. She fed 
and clothed him, and he grew to athletic manhood. He joined 
the war party, and formed one of the expedition against Fort 
Mims. Like the other warriors, he was engaged in hewing and 
hacking the females to pieces, towards the close of the massacre, 
when he suddenly came upon Mrs. McGirth and his foster-sisters. 
Pity and gratitude taking possession of his heart, he thrust them 
in a corner, and nobly made his broad savage breast a rampart 
for their protection. The next day he carried them off upon 
horses, towards the Coosa, under the pretence that he had re- 
served them from death for his slaves. Arriving at his home, 
he sheltered them, hunted for them, and protected them from 
Indian brutality. One day he told his adopted mother that he 
was going to fight Jackson, at the Horse-Shoe, and that, if 
he should be killed, she must endeavor to reach her friends be- 
low. Sure enough^ the noble Sanota soon lay among the slain at 
Cholocco Litebixee. Mrs. McGirth, now being without a pro- 
tector, and in a hostile region, started off on foot, with her chil- 
dren, for Fort Claiborne. After much suffering, they reached 



542 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



their deserted farm, below Claiborne, where Major Blue, at the 
head of a company of horse, discovered these miserable objects, 
and carried them to Mobile, where the interview just related took 
place with the astonished husband, who imagined that he had 
some months before surveyed their half-burnt bodies upon the 
field of Fort Mims. His son was the only member of his family 
who had perished upon that bloody occasion.* 

General Claiborne despatched Major Joseph P. Kennedy, 
with a strong detachment, to Fort Mims, from his headquarters 
at Mount Vernon, for the purpose of interring the dead. 
1813 Upon arriving there, Kennedy found the air darkened 
Sept. 9 with buzzards, and hundreds of dogs, which had run wild, 
gnawing upon the human carcasses. The troops, with 
heavy hearts, succeeded in interring many bodies in two 
large pits, which they dug. " Indians, negroes, white men, wo- 
men and children, lay in one promiscuous ruin. All were scalped, 
and the females, of every age, were butchered in a manner 
which neither decency nor language will permit me to describe. 
The main building was burned to ashes, which were filled with 
bones. The plains and the woods around were covered with 
dead bodies. All the houses were consumed by fire, except the 
block-house, and a part of the pickets. The soldiers and officers, 
with one voice, called on Divine Providence to revenge the death 
of our murdered friends."t 

In drawing our account of this sanguinary affair to a con- 
clusion, it is proper to observe that General Claiborne was in no 
way to blame for the unfortunate result. He corresponded with 
Beasley, heard from him almost every day, and in his despatches 
constantly urged him to be prepared to meet the enemy. Clai- 
borne, from every quarter, received distressing messages implor- 
ing assistance, and we have already seen how judiciously he dis- 

* Conversations with Colonel Robert James, of Clarke county, Alabama, who often 
heard McGirth relate these particulars. McGirth, in 1834, made the same statements 
to me. 

t Major Kennedy's MS. report to General Claiborne. 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS. 543 

tributed his forces, as far as it lay in his power, for their 
protection, contrary to the instructions of Flournoy, who en- 
deavored to confine his operations chiefly to the defence of Mobile 
and the country below Ellicott's line. Just before the at- 
tack upon Fort Minis, he headed a large detachment of 1813 
horse, and rushed to the defence of the people at Easley's Aug. 24 
station, upon the Tombigby near the Choctaw line, whom 
he was induced to believe a large party of Choctaws and Creeks 
intended shortly to attack. They, however, did not appear, 
and, leaving a strong guard for the defence of that fort, he has- 
tened back to Mount Vernon, and arrived there at twelve o'clock 
at night, after a march of seventy miles that day. He was there 
shocked to learn the fate of the garrison of Fort Mims. Sup- 
posing that he had already returned to Mount Vernon, Beasley 
addressed him a letter two hours only before the Indians entered 
the gate, declaring his ability to maintain the post against any 
number of the enemy.* The major was as brave a man as ever 
lived, but neither he nor his officers, attached to the Mississippi 
division, believed that the enemy were at hand; so often had re- 
ports reached them, which they pronounced untrue, because they 
were not immediately realized, as in the case of the negro who 
was whipped, and of the other who was killed by the Indians 
while tied up, ready to receive the lash.f 

* Beasley's letter, found among Claiborne's MS. papers. 

t The people at Fort Fierce, when the attack was made at Fort Mims, made their way, 
under Lieutenant Montgomery to Mobile, where they safely arrived. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Daring of Heaton — Bloody Scenes — Gaines and the 

Chootaws. 

While the larger body of Creeks were destroying the people 
at Fort Mims, Francis, the prophet, at the head of a hundred 
warriors, was spreading his depredations in the fork of the Ala- 
bama and Tombigby. Abrier James and Ransom Kemball, with 
their large families, being inmates of Fort Sinquefield, and be- 
coming dissatisfied at remaining among so many people, repaired 
to the house of Kemball, situated two miles from the fort. Here 
they were living when Francis suddenly surrounded the house, 

about three o'clock in the evening. Abner .James, his 

1813 son Thomas, then fourteen years of age, and his daugh- 

Sept. 1 ter Mary escaped, and fled to the fort. Isam Kemball, 

then sixteen years of age, also safely reached Sinquefield, 
and is now the clerk of the Circuit Court of Clarke county. All 
the others were despatched with war-clubs and scalped. After 
killing the stock and robbing the house the Indians retired to the 
swamps. In the early part of the night a slight rain commenced, 
which, it is believed, revived Sarah Merrill, the married daughter 
of James, whom the Indians had supposed to be dead. She felt 
among the bodies, which lay thick around her, and found her lit- 
tle boy, twelve months old, who also fortunately was alive. Some 
warm milk from her breast revived him more and more. Taking 
him in her arms, she with difficulty got upon her feet, and slowly 
walked towards the fort. Arriving within a half mile of that 
place, her bleeding wounds, weakening her at every step, forced 
her to place the babe by the side of a log, while she went on and 

541 



DARING OF HE AXON BLOODY SCENES. 545 

communicated his hiding place to the anxious garrison. Some 
generous men boldly sallied out, found the boy, and brought him 
to the fort. They are both now alive. The young woman was 
severely beaten with large clubs, and the scalp of the entire top 
of her head was taken off. The savages slung the little fellow 
against the side of the house, and cut around his head, but his 
hair being too short they did not pull off his scalp. 

Hearing of the murders, Colonel Carson despatched from 
Fort Montgomery Lieutenant Bailey with seven dragoons, 
and three men employed as spies, to bury the dead and ascer- 
tain if the Indians were numerous. Twelve bodies were con- 
veyed to Fort Sinquefield in an ox-cart, and thrown into a 
pit dug fifty yards from the gate. About the time that the 
funeral ceremonies were closing, and while nearly the whole 
garrison were engaged therein, Francis suddenly rushed with 
a hundred warriors down a hill towards them. The men 
snatched up the children, and every one of them reached the 
gate in time, except about ten women at the spring, who 
were engaged in washing. The Indians, failing to cut off the 
retreat of the main party, perceived with delight the helpless' 
condition of these females, and rushed in that direction to secure 
them. Just at that moment Isaac Heaton, who had been out 
cow-hunting, riding up, with his long whip and large pack of 
dogs, gave a tremendous crack, and, encouraging his 
canine army, charged upon the Indians. Such was the 1813 
fury of the dogs, that the Creeks were forced to halt Sept. 3 
and fight them, which enabled Heaton to cover the re- 
treat of the women until they arrived safely in the fort. His 
horse fell under him from the wound of an Indian gun, but rose 
again, and followed into the fort his heroic master, who had re- 
ceived no other injury than the riddling of his coat with rifle- 
balls. Only one poor woman — a Mrs. Philips, who was in an ad- 
vanced state of pregnancy — was overtaken and scalped. 

Heaton deserves to be remembered for this achievement — 

35 



546 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

an eminent exemplification of bravery and presence of mind. 
The Indians now attacked the little stockade, but a brave resist- 
ance repelled them, with the loss of eleven warriors. Then, se- 
curing the dragoon horses, which had been tethered outside the 
walls, the savages rapidly retired. The Americans, 
Sept. 4 having lost only one of their number, besides the un- 
fortunate Mrs. Phillips, the next day evacuated Sinque- 
field's fort, and marched to Fort Madison for better security, 
where the inmates of Forts Glass and Lavier had also flocked, 
swelling the population to over one thousand souls, including the 
command of Colonel Carson of two hundred and twenty men. 

Occasionally the farmers were accustomed to leave Fort 
Madison for a few hours to procure from their fields provisions 
for immediate use. A man named Fisher, with three of bis sons, 
set out for that purpose, and, arriving at the farm, one of the 
boys was shot in the back while shelling some peas in the yard. 
Instantly rising up, he made his escape to the woods. His father, 
then in the cane, running out to learn the cause of the firing, was 
also severely wounded in the back, but likewise made his way to 
the forest. The other two sons, being in a different 
1813 part of the field, fled to the fort, and reported the 
Sept. 6 death of their brother and father. The next day, how- 
ever, they came in, bleeding from their wounds, and 
happily recovered.* 

These things, following so closely upon the fall of Fort Mims, 
filled the whole population of the eastern section of the Missis- 
sippi Territory with the greatest panic imaginable, and every soul 
went into some kind of defensive work. Fort Hawn, at Gullett's 
Bluff, contained a mixed population of three hundred and ninety- 
one souls, including sixty men under Captain James Powell of 
the eighth regiment of Mississippi militia. At Mount Vernon 
were two forts literally packed with people. Rankin's fort con- 



* Conversations with the late Colonel Girard W. Creagh, of Clarke county; Colonel 
Jere Austin, of Mobile, and others. See also Claiborne's MS. papers. 



DARING OF HEATON BLOODY SCENES. 547 

tained live hundred and thirty persons — of whom only eighty- 
seven were capable of bearing arms, in consequence of the sickness 
which everywhere prevailed in these filthy stockades. Fort 
Charlotte, of Mobile, was also daily receiving families. To this 
place Judge Toulmin and a number of his neighbors had 
repaired. Perhaps greater inquietude existed at St. Stephens 
than at any other point, if, indeed, any line of distinction can be 
drawn. Claiborne all the time was harassed by distressing mes- 
sages, which hourly reached him, and his generous heart was 
racked day and night in revolving plans to assist them all ; but 
he was unable to do more than he had already accomplished, on 
account of the smallness of his army and the restrictions put 
upon him by the commander-in-chief. 

The enemy continued to spread their depredations, distrib- 
uting themselves in all directions, burning the abandoned houses, 
driving off the cattle, and herding the hogs in the corn-fields to 
fatten, that their flesh might be in good order for their feastings. 
Colonel Carson's condition was unknown to Claiborne, and from 
the continued reports which he received, that a combined attack 
was soon to be made upon Fort Madison, the general transmitted 
him an order to abandon his post and march to St. Stephens, 
which was deemed a more important point to defend. 
The order was discretionary, however, but Carson and 1813 
his officers viewed it as rather peremptory . He started Sept. 8 
with all his force to St. Stephens, accompanied by five 
hundred settlers, of all ages and sexes. This created great con- 
sternation in the Fork, and Claiborne was unjustly denounced 
for having abandoned the whole population of Clarke county. 
But if Carson had chosen to remain it would have fully accorded 
with the views of the general. The movement was unnecessary, 
and served to embolden the savages. When the evacution took 
p!ace, eighty citizens enrolled themselves under Captain Evan 
Austill and Captain Sam Dale (the latter still suffering from the 
desperate wound which he received at Burnt Corn), all of whom 



548 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



determined to stay within Fort Madison to protect a number of 
citizens who preferred to remain. A despatch from Claiborne, 
dated the 8th of September, urging Carson " not to abandon the 
fort, unless it was clear that he could not maintain it," arrived 
too late, as that officer was already in the neighborhood of St. 
Stephens* 

The British were hovering along the'Coast to give their red 
friends countenance and aid. A British war schooner had an- 
chored at Pensacola with a large supply of munitions of 
1813 war. After Avards, Mexco Gonzales Manique, the Gov- 
Sept. 29 ernor of Pensacola, addressed a letter to Weatherford 
and the Chiefs, congratulating them on their late vic- 
tory at Fort Mims, assuring them of his constant aid, but dis- 
suading them from setting fire to Mobile, as that place properly 
belonged to the King of Spain, which his majesty would shortly 
re-occupy. | 

While all was doubt and uncertainty as to the position 
which the Choctaws would assume at this critical juncture, 
Pnshmatahaw, the most enlightenel and influential Chief of 
that nation, rode to St. Stephens and proposed to Mr. George 
S. Gaines to enlist several companies of his warriors in the 
American cause. Gratified at the proposition, the latter has- 
tened with the Chief to Mobile, and had an interview with Gen- 
eral Flournoy in Fort Charlotte, Avho strangely declined to 
receive the Choctaws as United States soldiers. With deep mor- 
tification Gaines and the Chief returned to St. Stephens, and 
while the citizens, Avho had surrounded them when they rode up, 
were cursing Flournoy for his folly, a horse Avas seen at a dis- 
tance, bearing a rider with great speed. Flournoy had reconsid- 
ered the matter, and had sent a messenger authorizing Gaines to 
go into the Choctaw nation to raise troops. The people gave a 

* Claiborne's MS. papers. 

t This letter was found in AVeatherford's house, at the Holy Ground, several months 
afterwards, and is yet among the MS. papers of General Claiborne. AH these papers 
furnish the most indubitable evidence of the coalition between the Spaniards and Eng- 
lish to exterminate the population of the Mississippi Territory. 



DARING OF HEATON BLOODY SCENES. 549 



shout, and all hearts were made giad. Every one had feared 
that the Choctaws would join the Creeks, and now, through the 
influence of Pushmatahaw, it was believed they would actually 
assist the Americans. In company with Col. Flood McGrew and 
the Chief, Gaines departed immediately for the Choctaw coun- 
try, with no other provisions than some jerked beef. Colonel 
John McKee, agent of the Chickasaws, met them at Peachland's, 
where they held a consultation, while Pushmatahaw went home 
to assemble his people in council. They were living under three 
distinct governments; the eastern district was governed by 
Pushmatahaw, the western by Puckshenubbee, and the north- 
western by Mushelatubba. In a few days Gaines reached the 
council-ground, where over five thousand Choctaws were en- 
camped. Pushmatahaw harangued them in a long speech, full 
of eloquence and ingenuity, in which he said, among many other 
things : " You know Tecumseh. He is a bad man. He came 
through our nation, but did not turn our heads. He went among 
the Muscogees and got many of them to join him. You know 
the Tensaw people. They were our friends. They played ball 
with us. They sheltered and fed us, whenever we went to Pen- 
sacola. Where are they now ? Their bodies rot at Sam Mims' place. 
The people at St. Stephens are our friends. The Muscogees 
intend to kill them too. They want soldiers to defend them." 
(He here drew out his sword, and flourishing it, added :) " You 
can all do as you please. You are all freemen. I dictate to none of 
you. But I shall join the St. Stephens people. If you have a 
mind to follow me, I will lead you to glory and to victory !" A 
warrior rose up, slapped his hand upon his breast, and said : " I 
am a man ! I am a man ! I will follow you !" All of them now 
slapped their breasts, a general shout went up, and Gaines was 
rilled with joy at the result. 

In the meantime Colonel McKee was equally successful with 
the Chickasaws, being greatly aided in his efforts by the 
influence of John Peachland. McKee, at the head of a large 



PLAN 

OF THE 

BATTLE OF 

TALLADEGA. 



Order of March. 

Ca valry ^Mounted, fl tflem en 



2'lanJcent. 




Flanker* 



en- 
the 



REFERENCES 

I Jackson's position 
I Friendly Indians. 

3 Hostile Indians 

camped around 
Spring. 

4 Advance under Col. 

Carroll, sent forwasd 
to bripg on the en- 
gagement. 
6 Gap between the Ca- 
valry and Infantry, 
through which many 
Indians escaped. 



Jidvance 






Order of Battle. 

Reseve under &Cd Dyer. . 



ill 




DARING OF HEATON BLOODY SCENES. 551 

force of Chickasaws, marched to the Tuskaloosa Falls, 
to attack the Creek town at that place, but found it re- 1813 
duced to ashes. The inhabitants had fled. Return- Oct. 
ing to Peachland's, at the mouth of the Octibaha, the 
force separated, one party going to their homes and the other to 
St. Stephens, to join General Claiborne, who had laudably ex- 
erted himself to procure the aid of these powerful tribes.* 



* Conversations with Mr. George S. Gaines. See Claiborne's MS. papers. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Battles of Tallasehatche, Talladega and Auttose. 

The arrival of an express at Nashville, with letters from 
Mr. George S. Gaines to General Jackson and the gov- 
ernor, conveying the distressing intelligence of the massacre 
at Fort Mims, and imploring their assistance, created great 
excitement, and the Tennesseans volunteered their services to 
avenge the outrage. General Jackson, at the head 
of a large force, passed through Hunts ville, crossed 1813 
the Tennessee at Ditto's Landing, and joined Colonel Oct. 11 
Coffee, who had been despatched in advance, and who 
had encamped opposite the upper end of an island on the south 
side of the river, three miles above the landing. Remaining here 
a short time, the army advanced higher up, to Thompson's 
Creek, to meet supplies, which had been ordered down from East 
Tennessee. In the meantime, Colonel Coffee marched, with six 
hundred horse, to Black Warrior's town, upon the river of that 
name, a hundred miles distant, which he destroyed by fire, hav- 
ing found it abandoned. Collecting about three hundred bushels 
of corn, he rejoined the main army at Thompson's Creek, with- 
out having seen an Indian. Establishing a defensive depot at 
this place, called Fort Deposite, Jackson, with great 
difficulty, cut his way over the mountains to Wills' 1813 
Creek, where, being out of bread, he encamped several Oct. 28 
days, to allow his foraging parties to collect provisions. 
The contractors had entirely failed to meet their engagements, 
and his army had for some days been in a perishing condition. 
Jackson despatched Colonel Dyer, with two hundred cav- 

552 



TALLASEHATCHE, TALLADEGA AND AUTT0SE. 553 

airy, to attack the village of Littefutchee, situated at the head of 

Canoe Creek, twenty miles distant. They arrived there 

at four o'clock in the morning, burned down the town, Oct. 29 

and returned with twenty-nine prisoners, consisting of 

men, women and children. Another detachment, sent out to 

bring in beeves and corn, returned with two negroes and four 

Indians, of the war party. These prisoners, together with two 

others brought in by Old Chinnobe and his son, were sent to 

Hunts ville. 

The Creeks having assembled at the town of Tallasehatche, 
thirteen miles from the camp, the commander-in-chief des- 
patched Coffee, now promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, 
with one thousand men, with one-half of whom he was directed 
to attack the enemy, and with the other half to scour the coun- 
try near the Ten Islands, for the purpose of covering his ope- 
rations. Richard Brown, with a company of Creeks and Chero- 
kees, wearing on their heads distinguishing badges of white 
feathers and deer's tails, accompanied the expedition. Fording 
the Coosa at the Fish Dam, four miles above the islands, 
Coffee advanced to Tallasehatche, surrounded it at the rising 
of the sun, and was fiercely met by the savages with whoops and 
the sounding of drums — the prophets being in advance. Attack- 
ing the decoy companies they were soon surrounded by the 
troops, who charged them with great slaughter. After a short 
but terrible action, eighty-four women and children were made 
prisoners, while the bodies of one hundred and eighty- 
six warriors were counted upon the field, where unavoid- 1813 
ably some women also perished. Many other bodies lay Nov. 3 
concealed in the weeds. Five Americans were killed and 
eighteen wounded. Late in the evening of the same day Coffee 
re-crossed the Coosa and reached headquarters. Not a solitary 
warrior begged for his life, and it is believed none escaped to the 
woods. These prisoners were also sent to Huntsville. General 
Jackson, now forcing his way over the Coosa mountain, arrived 



554 HISTOKY OF ALABAMA. 

at the Ten Islands, where he began to erect a second depot for 
supplies, which was protected by strong picketing and block- 
houses, and which received the name of Fort Strother. 

In Lashley's fort in the Talladega town many friendly Creeks 
had taken refuge. The war party, in strong force, had surrounded 
them so effectually that not a solitary warrior could escape from 
the fort unseen to convey to the American camp intelligence of 
their critical condition. One night a prominent Indian, who be- 
longed to the Hickory Ground town, resolved to escape to the lines 
of Jackson by Indian stratagem. He threw over him the skin of 
a large hog, with the head and legs attached, and placing himself 
in a stooping position, went out of the fort and crawled about be- 
fore the camps of the hostiles, grunting and apparently rooting, 
until he slowly got beyond the reach of their arrows. Then, dis- 
carding his swinish mantle, he fled with the speed of lightning 
to Jackson, who resolved immediately to relieve these people. 
The commander-in-chief, leaving a small guard to pro- 
1813 tect his camp and sick, put his troops in motion at the 
Nov. 8 hour of midnight, and forded the Coosa, here six hun- 
dred yards wide, with a rocky, uneven bottom. Each 
horseman carried behind him a footman until the whole army 
was over. Late that evening he encamped within six 
Nov. 9 miles of Talladega. At four o'clock next morning Jack- 
son surrounded the enemy, making a wide circuit, with 
twelve hundred infantry and eight hundred cavalry. The hos- 
tiles, to the number of one thousand and eighty, were concealed in 
a thick shrubbery that covered the margin of a small rivulet, and 
at eight o'clock they received a heavy fire from the advance guard 
under Colonel Carroll. Screaming and yelling most horribly, 
the enemy rushed forth in the direction of General Roberts' 
brigade, a few companies of which gave way at the first fire. 
Jackson directed Colonel Bradley to fill the chasm with his regi- 
ment, which had not advanced in a line with the others; but 
that officer failing to obey the order,- Colonel Dyer's reserve 



TALLASEHATCHE, TALLADEGA AND AUTTOSE. 555 

dismounted, and met the approaching enemy with great firm- 
ness. The retreating militia, mortified at seeing their places 
so promptly filled recovered their former position, and dis- 
played much bravery. The action now became general along 
the whole line, while the Indians, who had at first fought 
courageously, were now seen flying in all directions. But 
owing to the halt of Bradley's regiment, and the cavalry under 
Alcorn having taken too wide a circuit, many escaped to the 
mountains. A general charge was made, and the wood for miles 
was covered with dead savages. Their loss was very great, and 
could not be ascertained. However, two hundred and ninety- 
nine bodies were counted on the main field. Fifteen Americans 
were killed and eighty-five wounded. The latter were conveyed 
to Fort Strother in litters made of raw hides. The fort 
contained one hundred and sixty friendly warriors, 1813 
with their wives and children, who were all to have Nov. 9 
been butchered the very morning that Jackson at- 
tacked their assailants. Never was a party of poor devils more 
rejoiced at being relieved. General Pillow, of the infantry ; 
Colonel Lauderdale, of the cavalry ; Major Boyd, of the mounted 
riflemen ; and Lieutenant Barton were wounded — the last named 
mortally. Colonel Bradley was arrested for disobe- 
dience of orders, but was released without a trial. Jack- Nov. 11 
son buried his dead and marched back to Fort Strother 
as rapidly as possible, for he was out of provisions. Arriving 
there, he was mortified to find none at that point for him.* 

About the time that the Middle and West Tennessee volun- 
teers flocked to the standard of Jackson, a large body of volun- 
teers from East Tennessee rendezvoused to march to the 
seat of war under Major-General John Cocke. Shortly after- 

* A portion of the Talladega battlefield is now (1851) embraced within the limits of the 
beautiful and nourishing American town of that name, which contains a population of 
near two thousand, and is situated in a delightful valley, with magnificent mountain 
scenery in view. 



556 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



1813 wards, General White, commanding a detachment of 
Nov. 5 one thousand men belonging to Cocke's force, advanced 
to Turkey Town. From this place he reported to Jack- 
son that he would the next day march in the direction of head- 
quarters, and should, in the meantime, be glad to receive his or- 
ders. The latter ordered him to march to Fort Strother, 
Nov. 7 and protect that place during his absence to Talladega, 
where, he informed him, he intended immediately to 
march to the relief of the garrison of Lashley's fort. While 
White was on the march to Fort Strother to comply with this 
requisition, he received a despatch from General Cocke ordering 
him to alter his route, and form a junction with him at the 
mouth of the Chattooga. This order he obeyed, preferring to 
comply with the commands of Cocke rather than those of Jack- 
son, although the latter was generally considered the commander- 
in-chief of all the troops from Tennessee. Jackson was shocked 
at receiving an account of the retrograde march of White, and 
that, too, at a late hour of night, previous to the battle of Talla- 
dega; and it determined him to attack the Indians forthwith, 
and rush back to Fort Strother, now left with a very feeble pro- 
tection. 

However, before General White had reached Turkey Town, 
his advance-guard, consisting of four hundred Cherokees and a 
few whites under Colonel Gideon Morgan and John Lowrey, ad- 
vanced upon the town of Tallasehatche on the evening of the 3d 
November, and found that it had that morning been destroyed by 
Coffee. Collecting twenty of the wounded Indians, they returned 
with them to Turkey Town. 

The mischiefs of a want of concert between the East and 
West Tennessee troops — growing out of a jealousy of the former 
and a strong desire to share some of the glory which the latter 
had already acquired in the few battles they had fought — were 
in a very few days made quite apparent. Through Robert Grai- 
son,an aged Scotchman, the Hillabees (a portion of whom fought 



TALLASEHATCHE, TALLADEGA AND AUTTOSE. 557 

Jackson at Talladega) made offers of peace, to which the general 
immediately and willingly acceded. At that very time, and 
when Graison had hastened back with the favorable reply of 
Jackson, General White surrounded the Hillabee town early in 
the morning and effected a complete surprise, killing 
sixty warriors and taking two hundred and fifty pris- 1813 
oners. The Hillabees, it is asserted, made not the Nov. 18 
slightest resistance. At all events, not a drop of Ten- 
nessee blood was spilt. The other Hillabee towns, viewing this 
as flagrant treachery on the part of Jackson, became the most 
relentless enemies of the Americans, and afterwards fought them 
with fiendish desperation. The destruction of this town was in 
pursuance of the orders of General Cocke. White, in marching 
down, had already destroyed Little Ocfuske and Ge- 
nalga, both of which had been abandoned by the inhab- Nov. 13 
itants, with the exception of five warriors, who were 
captured at the former. 

General Cocke, having given up the ambition of achieving 
separate victories, was now prepared to co-operate with 
Jackson, and for that purpose joined him at Fort Stro- 1813 
ther with fourteen hundred men. He was sent by the Dec. 12 
commander-in-chief back to East Tennessee with a por- 
tion of his command, whose term of service had nearly expired, 
with orders to raise fifteen hundred men and rejoin him in the 
Creek nation. 

Georgia, no less patriotic than Tennessee, soon came to the 
relief of her brethren of the Mississippi Territory. Brigadier- 
General John Floyd crossed the Ockmulgee, Flint and 
Chattahoochie, and advanced near the Tallapoosa with Nov. 29 
an army of nine hundred and fifty militia and four hun- 
dred friendly Indians, piloted by Abram Mordecai, the Jew 
trader of whom we have so often had occasion to speak. Before 
sunrise, on a cold frosty morning, Floyd attacked the Creeks, who 
were assembled in great force at the town of Auttose, which was 



558 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



situated on the east bank of the Tallapoosa, at the mouth of the 
Calebee Creek. Booth's battalion, which composed the right 
column, marched from the centre ; Watson's composed the 
left, and marched from its right. Upon the flanks were 
the rifle companies of Adams and Merriweather, the latter 
commanded by Lieutenant Hen don. The artillery, under Cap- 
tain Thomas, advanced in the road in front of the right 
column. General Floyd intended to surround the town by 
throwing the right wing on Calebee Creek, at the mouth of 
which he was informed the town stood, and resting the left 
on the river bank below it; but the dawn of day exhibited, 
to his surprise, a second town, about five hundreds yards 
below. It was now necessary to change the plan of attack, 
by advancing three companies of infantry to the lower town, ac- 
companied by Merriweather's rifles, and two troops of light 
dragoons commanded by Captains Irwin and Steele. The re- 
mainder of the army marched upon the upper town, and soon 
the battle became general. The Indians at first advanced, and 
fought with great resolution, but the fire from the artillery, with 
the charge of the bayonets, drove them into the out-houses and 

thickets, in rear of the town. Many concealed them- 

1813 selves in caves cut in the bluff of the river, here thickly 

Nov. 29 covered with cane. The admirable plans of General 

Floyd for the extermination of the foe were not prop- 
erly executed, owing to the failure of the friendly Indians to 
cross the Tallapoosa to the west side, and there cut off all re- 
treat. The difficulty of the ford and the coolness of the morn- 
ing deterred them, as they stated ; but fear, in all probability, 
was the prime cause. They now irregularly fell back to the rear 
of the army. However, the Cowetas, under Mcintosh, and the 
Tookabatchas, under the Mad Dragon's Son, fell into the ranks, 
and fought with great bravery. The hour of nine o'clock wit- 
nessed the abandonment of the ground by the enemy, and the 
conflagration of the houses. From the number of bodies scat- 
tered over the field, together with those burnt in the houses and 



TALLASEHATCHE, TALLADEGA AND AUTTOSE. 559 

slain on the bluff, it is believed that two hundred must have per- 
ished, among whom were the Kings of Tallase and Auttose. The 
number of buildings burned, some of which were of fine Indian 
architecture and filled with valuable articles, amounted to about 
four hundred. The Americans had eleven men killed and fifty- 
four wounded. The friendly Indians had several killed and 
wounded. Important services were rendered by Adjutant- 
General Newnan, the aids Majors Crawford and Pace, and the 
surgeons Williamson and Clopton. Major Freeman, at the head 
of Irwin's cavalry and part of Steele's, made bold charges upon 
the Indians, completely routing them. The companies led on by 
Captains Thomas, Adams, Barton, Myrick, Little, King, Broad- 
nax, Cleveland, Cunningham, Lee and Lieutenant Hendon, fought 
with gallantry. Brigadier-General Shackleford performed effi- 
cient services in successfully bringing the troops into action, and 
Adjutants Montgomery and Broadnax exhibited activity and 
courage. The battalion of Major Booth was properly brought 
into action, and that of Major Watson fought with commendable 
spirit. The cavalry under Irwin, Patterson and Steele, charged 
with success when opportunities were afforded. Great heroism 
was displayed by Quartermaster Terrill, who, though badly 
wounded, escaped aftei his horse was shot under him. The 
horse of Lieutenant Strong was shot under him, and he made a 
narrow escape. In seven days the troops had marched one hun- 
dred and twenty miles, and fought this battle. Being now sixty 
miles from the depot of provisions, and the rations of the troops 
being nearly exhausted, Floyd, after the dead had been 
interred and the wounded properly attended, began the 1813 
retrograde march to Fort Mitchell, upon the Chatta- Nov. 29 
hoochie. On ascending Heydon's Hill, a mile east of 
the battle-ground, many of the Creeks rallied and fiercely at- 
tacked his rear, but after a few rounds they were dispersed.* 

* Upon the campaigns of the Tennesseans, under Jackson and Cocke, and the Georgi- 
ans, under Floyd, I have consulted the various \vorks and public documents upon the 
late war, such as the lives of Jackson by Kendall^ Cobbett, Eaton and Waldo; Russell's 
" History of the War," Breckenridge's History of the Late War, and the various Ameri- 
can State Papers. 



CHAPTER XL. 

Remarkable Canoe Fight — Battle of Holy Ground — March 

to Cahaba Old Towns. 

Returning again to the seat of war, in the fork of the Tom- 
bigby and Alabama, it will be seen that Colonel William McGrew 

advanced in pursuit of a party of the enemy, with 

1813 twenty-five mounted militia. Coming upon them at Tal- 

Oct. 4 labatta, or Barshi Creek, a spirited action ensued. Colonel 

McGrew was killed, together with three of his company — 
the two Griffins and Edmund Miles — which put the remainder of 
the Americans to flight. 

General Flournoy, who had restricted the operations of Clai- 
borne to those of a defensive character, now ordered the latter to 

advance with his army, for the purpose of defending the 
Oct. 12 citizens while employed in gathering their crops; to 

drive the enemy from the frontiers, to follow them up 
to their contiguous towns, and to "kill, burn and destroy all 
their negroes, horses, cattle, and other property that cannot con- 
veniently be brought to the depots." General Flournoy, admit- 
ted, in the same order, that such usage was contrary to that of 
civilized nations, but stated that the conduct of Great Britain 
and the acts of her Indian allies fully justified it. On the 
same day that these instructions were received, Claiborne, at the 
head of Major Hind's Mississippi dragoons, a part of the twelve 
month's volunteers, and some companies of militia, marched from 
St. Stephens, crossed the Tombigby, and proceeded, by an indirect 
route, to the northern boundary, where Colonel McGrew had 

560 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 561 

fallen. He found the body of that officer, and those 1813 
of the privates, and interred them with military honors. Oct. 16 
On the march small bodies of the enemy hovered around, 
but could not be brought into action. A picket of infantry was 
attacked from an ambuscade, and three of them wounded ; but 
before Major Hinds, who was a little in the rear, could come up 
the assailants leaped down a precipice, and escaped the pursuit 
of Captain Foster's detachment. Remaining two days at Fort 
Easley, upon Baker's Bluff, Claiborne scoured the whole country 
with detachments. In these expeditions he had five of his men 
severely wounded, among whom was Capt. William Bradberry, 
who had acted so bravely at Burnt Corn. He was carried back 
to St. Stephens, and there died in great agony. Failing to bring 
the Indians to action, being convinced that they were in very in- 
considerable force, and becoming destitute of subsistence, Clai- 
borne marched to "Pine Levels," in the neighborhood of some 
good farms, a mile east of the Tombigby. From this 
point he sent spies to the Alabama. He also sent a des- Oct. 20* 
patch to Flournoy, requesting him to suffer all the dis- 
posable force to march immediately to the Creek country.* 

The Indians were everywhere committing depredations, in 
small parties, and occasionally some of the settlers were killed. 
Tandy Walker, Benjamin Foster and Evans, a colored man, had 
been despatched by the citizens of Fort Madison across the Ala- 
bama, in an eastern direction, as spies. Approaching the late 
battle ground at Burnt Corn they came upon a small camp of the 
enemy, upon whom they fired from a concealed position. The 
Indians fled with great precipitancy, while the spies seized some 
horses, plundered the camp, and retreated to Sisemore's Ferry. 
Here, late at night, while reposing in the cane, guns 
were fired upon them, and Evans was instantly killed. 1813 
Walker escaped with a wound in the side and a broken Nov. 5 
arm, but the next day crossed the Alabama upon a cane 



* Claiborne's MS. papers. 



36 



562 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



raft and reached Fort Madison, where Foster, having already ar- 
rived, had reported his death.* 

Captain Samuel Dale, having now sufficiently recovered from 
his wounds, obtained the consent of Colonel Carson, who had re- 
turned to Fort Madison, to drive these small parties of the enemy 
from the frontiers. Dale was joined by a detachment of thirty 
of Captain Jones' Mississippi volunteers, under Lieutenant 
Montgomery, and forty Clarke county militia. Girard W. Creagh, 
the same who was attached to his company at Burnt Corn, 
was his lieutenant upon this occasion. This expedition 
marched in a northern direction, visiting the abandoned plan- 
tations, and frequently discovering old traces of Indians. 

Dale returned to the fort, and the next day marched 
Nov. 11 southeastwardly towards Brazier's Landing, now 

French's, where an Indian negro, named Cassar, who 
was in company, had two canoes concealed in the cane. In these 
they crossed the Alabama at the close of the day, and bivouacked 
on the eastern bank. They were thinly clad, and the frost was 

severe. When the sun first made its appearance over 

1813 the tall canes, Captain Dale put his command in mo- 

Nov. 12 tion and marched up the eastern bank, after having 

placed the canoes in charge of Jeremiah Austill, with 
six men, with orders to keep the boats parallel with those who 
marched on foot. Arriving opposite the farm of the late Dixon 
Bailey, who had heroically fallen at Fort Mims, as we have seen, 
Dale entered the boats, went over to the place, and discovered 
fresh signs of the mysterious foe, with whose habits he was so 
well acquainted. No sooner had he returned to his command on 
the eastern side than Austill discovered a canoe, occupied by In- 
dians, descending the river, whom he immediately approached. 
They tacked about, paddled up the river, and disappeared in the 
thick cane, near the mouth of Randon's Creek. A few minutes 
only elapsed before a heavy firing ensued, up the creek, where 

* Conversations with old settlers. 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 563 

the expedition bad encountered some savages on horseback — 
Captain Dale's rifle, which unhorsed one of these Indians, hav- 
ing given the alarm. The yell was raised, and they made 
an attempt to charge; but the hot fire of the Americans com- 
pelled them to make a precipitate retreat, with one of their num- 
ber killed and several severely wounded. 

In the meantime, Austill had reached Randon's plantation, 
with the canoes, a quarter of an hour in advance of the main 
party.* When they came up Dale ordered them to cross to the 
western side, as it was found impracticable to continue the route 
on the eastern, on account of the cane and thick vines. While 
the company of Captain Jones or Lieutenant Montgomery was 
being ferried over, Captain Dale, Jere Austill, Lieutenant Creagh, 
James Smith, John Elliott, a half-breed, Brady and six others 
occupied a position in a small field, between a sand bluff and the 
river, where, kindling a fire, they began to boil some beef and 
roast a few potatoes for their morning repast. When all the 
command had passed the river except these men, and immedi- 
ately after the negro, Csesar, had returned, with the smaller 
canoe, the men from the western side gave the alarm that the. 
Indians were rapidly descending upon those who occupied the 
little field. They sprang up from their hasty meal, retreated to 
the river side, and were partially screened from the enemy's fire 
by a small bank. While in this perilous situation, hemmed in 
by the Indians and the river, their attention was directed to a 
large flat-bottomed canoe, containing eleven warriors. Naked, and 
painted in a variety of fantastic colors, while a panther-skin en- 
circled the head of the Chief, and extended down his back, these 
Indians presented a picturesque and imposing appear- 
ance. For some reason, those in the rear now retired, 1813 
leaving Dale and his little party free to attack those in Nov. 12 
the canoe. The red voyagers, apparently unapprised of 
their danger, glided gently down the river, sitting erect, with 

* Ranclon was a wealthy Indian countryman, who was massacred at Fort Minis. 



564 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

their guns before them. Dale and his party immediately opened 
a fire upon them, which they promptly returned. Several rounds 
were afterwards exchanged, resulting, however, in but little 
injury, as the Indians now lay flat in the canoe, exposing nothing 
but their heads. At length, two of the latter, cautiously getting 
into the water, swam for the shore, above the field, holding their 
guns dry above their heads. They swam near the land, above 
the mouth of a stream, over whose muddy bottom Austill and 
Smith crossed with difficulty to pursue them. When near the 
Indians, the buckskin leggins of Austill, suspended by a band 
around his waist, fell about his feet from the weight of water in 
them, causing him to slip and be precipitated down the bluff. At 
that moment, a ball from Smith's unerring rifle perforated the 
head of one of the Indians, who immediately turned over upon 
his back and then sunk. The other gained the bank and ascended 
it, keeping Smith off with his gun, which he pretended was 
charged. Austill, who had now gained the top of the bluff, pur- 
sued the Indian up the stream, when a gun was fired, the con- 
tents of which passed just over his head. Imagining himself 
among the enemy, and hesitating for a moment, the savage 
escaped. The fire proved to be from Lieutenant Creagh's gun. 
who, in the thick cane, supposed Austill to be the warrior, in 
whose pursuit he was likewise engaged. While these things were 
rapidly transpiring, Dale ordered the large canoe to be manned 
on the opposite shore, and to be brought over to capture the In- 
dians who were still in their canoe. Eight men sprang into it, 
but having approached near enough to see the number of fierce 
warriors still alive and ready to defend themselves to desperation, 
this cautious party rapidly paddled back to the western side. 
The exasperated Dale now proposed that some of his men should 
follow him in the small canoe, which was immediately acquiesced 
in. Dale leaped down the bank into the boat, and was followed 
by Smith and Austill. All the others were anxious to go, but 
it afforded room for no more. The noble Ceesar paddled 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 565 

towards the Indians' canoe, and, when within twenty 1813 
yards of it, the three resolute Americans rose to give Nov. 12 
them a broadside ; but only the gun of Smith fired, for 
the other two had unfortunately wet their priming. Csesar was 
ordered to paddle up, and to place his boat side by side with that 
of the warriors. Approaching within ten feet, the Chief, recog- 
nizing Dale, exclaimed, " Now for it, Big Sam ! "* At the same 
instant, he presented his gun at Austin's breast. That brave 
youth struck at him with an oar, which he dodged, and in return 
he brought down his rifle upon Austin's head, just as the canoes 
came together. At that moment, the powerful arms of Smith and 
Dale raised their long rifles, which came down with deadly 
force, and felled the Chief to the bottom of the canoe — his 
blood and brains bespattering its sides. Such was the force of 
the blow inflicted by Dal 3, that his gun was broken near the 
lock. Seizing the heavy barrel, still left, he did great execution 
with it to the end oi the combat. Austill, in a moment, engaged 
with the second warrior, and then with a third, both of whom he 
despatched with his clubbed rifle. Smith, too, was equally act- 
ive, having knocked down two Indians. Caesar had by this time 
got the canoes close together, and held them with a mighty 
grasp, which enabled Dale, who was in the advance, and the 
others to maintain a firm footing by keeping their feet in both 
canoes. These brave men now mowed down the savages, amid 
the encouraging shouts of the men on both sides of the river, who 
had a full view of the deadly conflict. In the midst of this un- 
paralleled strife, a lusty Indian struck Austill with a war-club, 
which felled him across the sides of the two boats, and, while 
prostrate, another had raised his club to dash out his brains, 
when Dale, by a timely blow, buried his heavy rifle barrel deep 
in the warrior's skull. In the meantime, Austill recovered his 
feet, and, in a desperate scuffle with another savage, knocked him 

* Dale had long been a trader among the Indians, and, on account of his prowess and 
large frame, was familiarly called by them " Big Sam." 



566 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

into the river with the club which he had wrested from him. 
The only word spoken during the fight was the exclamation of 
the Chief upon recognizing Dale, and the request of Caesar for 
Dale to make use of his bayonet and musket, which he handed to 
him. Having laid all the warriors low, these undaunted Ameri- 
cans began to cast them into the bright waters of the Alabama, 

their native stream, now to be their grave. Every time 

1813 a savage was raised up from the bottom of the canoe 

Nov. 12 by the head and heels and slung into the water, the 

Americans upon the banks sent up shouts, loud and 
long, as some slight revenge for the tragedy of Fort Minis.. Just 
as the last body found its watery grave, a ball, shot by the In- 
dians from the eastern side, struck one of the canoes, and was 
followed by other discharges, but without effect. After the right 
had ended, eight athletic Indians were thrown out of the canoe. 
It will be recollected that there were eleven in the boat when 
first seen, and that two of them had swum ashore, and the other 
one Austill had knocked out before the conflict ended. 

The Indian canoe presented a sight unusually revolting — 
several inches deep in savage blood, thickened with clods of 
brains and bunches of hair. In this sanguinary bark, and the 
one paddled by Coesar, the nine Americans who had been left on 
the eastern side were now conveyed across to the opposite bank, 
where the heroes received the warm congratulations of their com- 
panions, who exultingly surrounded them. 

The expedition then marched up to CurnelPs Ferry, two 

miles distant, and, seeing no more of the enemy, and 
1813 being out of provisions, returned that night to Fort 
Nov. 12 Madison. It is remarkable that no one received the 
least injury, except Austill, whose head and arms were 
severely bruised.* 

* Conversations with Colonel Girard W. Creagh, who witnessed the canoe fight, while 
standing in full view upon the eastern bank of the Alabama, and Colonel Jeremiah Aus- 
till, of .Mobile, one of the hemes. Among the MS. papers of General Claiborne I also 
found the report of Captain R. Jones, of the first regiment of Mississippi Volunteers, 
e "canoe fight," which fixes the date of that affair. 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 567 

A short biographical sketch of these heroes may not be un- 
interesting, after a recital of their unsurpassed " hand-to-hand " 
fight, in the unsteady canoes, on the deep Alabama. 

Jeremiah Austill was born near the Oconee Station, in Pen- 
dleton District, South Carolina, on the 10th August, 1794. His 
father, Captain Evan Austill, has already been mentioned, as 
one of those who boldly remained to defend Fort Madison, after 
it had been evacuated by Colonel Carson. His mother was the 
only sister of Colonel David Files, who died in this State in 1820. 
At the time of the canoe expedition Jere Austill was nineteen 
years of age, and weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds, 
without any surplus flesh. He was bold, active and strong, and 
had been raised upon the Indian frontiers, having lived some 
time at the Agency, in the Cherokee nation. He is still a resi- 
dent of Mobile, and is regarded as a respectable gentleman. Since 
the canoe fight, he has filled several important offices, and rep- 
resented the people of Mobile in the legislature. His counten- 
ance is open and manly, his eyes keen and piercing, of a dark 
brown color, his form is erect, and his step elastic. Even now, 
at the age of fifty-six Colonel Austill is capable of being a very 
troublesome adversary in a desperate encounter, although one of 
the most peaceable and amiable men in the country, in the ordi- 
nary pursuits of life. 

James Smith was a native of Georgia, of low stature, well 
set, weighed one hundred and sixty-five pounds, and was twenty- 
five years of age at the period of the canoe fight. He was a 
brave, daring, frontier man, and died in East Mississippi several 
years ago. He was a man of great prowess, and had killed 
several Indians in frontier expeditions. He was admired by 
every one for his courage, honesty, and willingness to defend his 
country, at all times and under all circumstances. 

Captain Samuel Dale, of Irish extraction, was born in Rock- 
bridge county, Virginia, in 1772. In 1775, his father moved to 
Glade Hollow, on the Clinch river, in the county of Washington, 



568 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Virginia, and was actively engaged in the border warfare of that 
day. In 1784, he removed, with his family, to the vicinity of 
Greensborough, Georgia, where he purchased a farm, but, in a 
short time was compelled to take refuge in Carmichael's Station, 
in consequence of the inroads of the Indians. Several desperate 
attempts were made to burn this fort, in one of which Captain 
Autcry was slain. About this time Mr. Dale and his wife died, 
leaving eight children. Samuel, the subject of this memoir, who 
was the oldest, placed the children upon the farm, and joined a 
company of troopers, raised by Captain Fosh, to watch the 
movements of the Creeks, which was soon after mustered into 
the federal service, and quartered on the Oconee, at a place 
called Fort Mathews. Towards the close of 1794, this troop 
had several engagements with the savages, in which Dale dis- 
played those traits which so distinguished his subsequent ca- 
reer — vigilance, perseverance, energy, and dauntless courage. 
At Ocfuske, on the Chattahoochie, he slew two Indians. 
Soon after, having been elected colonel, and stationed at the 
head of a separate command at Fort Republic on the Apa- 
lache river in Georgia, he rendered efficient services, until the 
troops were disbanded. Then he became a trader among the 
Creeks and Cherokees, purchasing his goods in Savannah and ex- 
changing them for cattle and ponies. He also acted in the 
capacity of guide to many parties emigrating to the Mississippi 
Territory. He finally established a trading-house in copartner- 
ship with a half-breed in what is now known as Jones county, 
Georgia, where he remained for some time. He was at Tooka- 
batcha when Tecumseh appeared there, and assured Colonel 
Hawkins that the mission of that man would result in great evil 
unless his efforts were immediately counteracted ; but the agent 
did not concur with him in that opinion. His bravery has been 
seen at Burnt Corn, and in the canoe fight. At the time of the 
latter Captain Dale weighed one hundred and ninety pounds, was 
over six feet high, possessed a large muscular frame, without any 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 569 



surplus flesh, and was in the prime of life. Although he will be 
mentioned hereafter, in connection with the Indian wars, we deem 
it proper, in further illustration of his character, to insert the fol- 
lowing well- written obituary, published in the " Natchez 
Free Trader," from the pen of John H. F. Claiborne, for- 1841 
merly a member of Congress from Mississippi, and the June 15 
son of the general of that name, whose military services 
are now under review : 

"I have not observed in your paper any notice of the death 
of our veteran friend, General Samuel Dale. He died at his 
residence. Daleville, Lauderdale county, on the 23d ult., with the 
fortitude of a soldier and the resignation of a Christian. On his 
dying bed he repeated, as I am informed, a request which he 
made last summer, that I should make a memoir of his life, most 
of the particulars of which I wrote down from his lips. I 
design visiting Lauderdale in a few weeks to obtain all the mate- 
rials that remain. Few men have run a career so full of benevo- 
lent actions and of romantic adventure, and no man was ever 
better adapted to the country and the period in which he lived— 
that country the frontiers of Georgia, Florida and the (then) Mis- 
sissippi Territory, embracing all the present State of Alabama— 
the period including nearly all that bloody interval between the 
close of the revolution and the termination of the last war. With 
the story of these times, the dreadful massacre at Fort Mims. the 
battle of the Holy Ground, General Jackson's Seminole campaigns, 
and the earlier events of the Georgia frontier, General Dale was 
closely connected. The most affecting of those scenes of murder 
and conflagration are as yet unwritten, and live only in the fad- 
ing memorials of border tradition. In preparing the life of Gen- 
eral Dale, I shall seek to put many of them on record. As a 
scout, a pilot to the emigrants who blazed the first path through 
the Creek nation, from Georgia to the Tombigby, with arms in 
their hands, and subsequently as a spy among the Spaniards, at 
Pensacola, and as a partisan officer during the most sangui- 



570 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

nary epochs of the late war, present at every butchery, re- 
markable for " hair-breadth 'scapes," for caution and coolness 
in desperate emergencies, for exhibitions of gigantic personal 
strength and great moral courage, his story is studded over 
with spirit-stirring incidents, unsurpassed by anything in 
legend or history. His celebrated '-canoe fightj where, in the 
Alabama river, he, with Smith and Austill, fought nine warriors 
with clubbed rifles, killed them all, and rowed to shore, would be 
thought fabulous if it had not been witnessed by many soldiers 
standing upon the banks, who could render them no assistance. 
Some years before, he was attacked by two warriors, who shouted 
their war-whoop as he was kneeling down to drink and rushed 
upon him with their tomahawks. He knifed them both, and, 
though bleeding from five wounds, he retraced their trail nine 
miles, crept stealthily to their camp, brained three sleeping war- 
riors and cut the thongs of a female prisoner who lay by their 
side. While in this act, however, a fourth sprang upon him from 
behind a log. Taken at such a disadvantage and exhausted by 
the loss of blood, he sank under the serpent-grasp of the savage, 
who, with a yell of triumph, drew his knife and in a few moments 
would have closed the contest. At that instant, however, the 
woman drove a tomahawk deep into the head of the Indian, and 
thus preserved the life of her deliverer. 

" Shortly after the treaty of Dancing Rabbit, our deceased 
friend settled in what is now known as Lauderdale county ; and 
it is worthy of remark, that at the first election, (1836, I believe) 
when he was chosen to the Legislature, but ten votes were cast. 
Now the county could probably poll 750, and in every direction 
its fleecy fields, its fine flour-mills, its school-houses and churches 
indicate a thriving, enlightened and moral population. 

"One anecdote of the old general is so similar to an event in 
Roman history that I cannot forbear relating it. The Consul 
Acquilius, returning from a campaign, was allowed a triumph, 
but shortly afterwards was arraigned for some misdemeanor 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 571 

committed during his foreign service. He called no exculpatory 
evidence, nor deigned to court the favor of his judges, but when 
about to receive sentence he tore open his vest and displayed the 
wounds he had received in the service of his country. A sudden 
emotion of pity seized the court, and unfixed the resolution which 
a few moments before they had taken to condemn the accused. 
Some time ago General Dale, being in Mobile, was held to bail as 
endorser upon a note. The debt was in the hands of a stranger. 
Accompanied by an officer, he sought the creditor, and found him 
in the saloon of Cullum's far-famed hotel. ' Sir,' said the general, 
' I have no money to pay this debt. The principal has property — 
make him pay it, or let me go home and work it out.' The Shy- 
lock hesitated. ' Very well? said the veteran, in tones that rang 
indignantly through the apartment, ' Very well, sir ! Look at my 
scars/ I will march to jail down Main street, and all Mobile 
shall -witness the treatment of an old soldier ! ' These simple words 
fell like electricity upon that high-toned people. In half an hour, 
a dozen of the brightest names of the city were on the bond, 
and before morning the debt was paid, and a full discharge 
handed to the general. I have seen the manly tears chasing 
down his cheek, as the aged warrior dwelt on these recollections 
of the generous citizens. In person, General Dale was tall, 
erect, raw-boned and muscular. In many respects, physical and 
moral, he resembled his antagonists of the woods. He had the 
square forehead, the high cheek-bones, the compressed lips, and, 
in fact, the physiognomy of an Indian, relieved, however, by a 
fine, benevolent Saxon eye. Like the red man, too, his foot fell 
lightly upon the ground, and turned neither to the right or left; 
he was habitually taciturn; his face grave; he spoke slowly and 
in low tones, and seldom laughed. I observed of him what I 
have often noted as peculiar to border men of high attributes : 
he entertained the strongest attachment for the Indians, extolled 
their courage, their love of country, and many of their domestic 
qualities, and I have often seen the wretched remnant of the 



572 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Choctaws camped around his plantation and subsisting on his 
crops. In peace, they felt for him the strongest veneration — he 
had been the friend both of Tecumseh and Weatherford — and in 
war the name of ' Big Sam ' fell on the ear of the Seminole like 
that of Marius on the hordes of the Cimbri." 

Captain Dale, with a scouting party, had effectually scoured 
the swamps of Bassett's Creek, and Major Hinds' horse had routed 
a small body of the enemy near Weatherford's Bluff, killing ten 

of their number, when an order from Flournoy permitted 

1813 Claiborne to advance with the Southern army to the Al- 

Nov. 10 abama. His instructions confined him still to defensive 

operations, requiring him to establish a depot at 
Weatherford's Bluff, and not to advance further into the Creek 
nation until he was joined by the Georgia and Tennessee 
troops. Claiborne accordingly broke up his camp at Pine Levels, 
marched across Clarke county with three hundred volunteers, 
the dragoons and some militia, flanked by detachments under 
Captains Kennedy and Bates and Lieutenant Osborne, and party 

of Choctaws, under Pushmatahaw and Mushullatubba. 

1818 Arriving at the Alabama, the army encamped for the 

Nov. 17 night upon the western bank, and the next day at 12 

o'clock had gained the other side by means of rafts. 
Colonel Gilbert C. Russell, an accomplished and gallant com- 
mander in the regular army, marched the third regiment of fed- 
eral troops from Mount Vernon, through Nannahubba Island, 

by Minis' Ferry, to the head of Little river, and thence 
Nov. 28 to the encampment of Claiborne, with whom he had 

been instructed by General Flournoy to co-operate. In 
the meantime, Claiborne had made rapid progress in the construc- 
tion of a strong stockade, two hundred feet square, defended by 
three block-houses and a half-moon battery, which commanded the 
river. Before the close of November it was completed, and re- 
ceived the name of Fort Claiborne, in honor of the commander. 
The town where it stood still bears his name. The general 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 573 



wrote to Jackson congratulating him upon his victories, and giv- 
ing him an account of the operations in the southern seat of war, 
and acquainting him with the fact that an abundance of 
corn and other provisions were to be obtained in the Dec. 5 
neighborhood of Fort Claiborne. He also wrote to 
Governor Blount, apprising him of the arrival of more English 
vessels in Pensacola, and added that he wished « to God that he 
was authorized to take that sink of iniquity, the depot of tories 
and instigators of disturbances on the southern frontier." He 
had a few days before despatched Major Kennedy and others to 
Mobile, to learn from Colonel Bowyer the particulars of the ar- 
rival of the British at Pensacola. They reported, giving satis- 
factory assurances that a large quantity of Indian supplies and 
many soldiers had arrived there; and, in addition, that the In- 
dians were committing depredations in Baldwin county, having 
recently burned down Kennedy's and Byrne's mills. 

Lieutenant-Colonel George Henry Nixon had suc- 
ceeded Russell in the command at Mount Vernon. At 1812 
his request, Claiborne permitted him, also, to man Dec. 13 
Fort Pierce, in the neighborhood of the disturbances .* 

Claiborne, having determined to advance to the enemy's 
strong-hold, the line of march was taken up by an army 
consisting of Colonel Russell's third regiment, Major Dec. 13 
Cassels' battalion of horse, a battalion of militia, under 
Major Benjamin Smoot— Patrick May being adjutant, Dale and 
Heard captains, and Girard W. Creagh one of the lieutenants— 
the twelve months' Mississippi Volunteers, under Colonel Car- 



mn £?H nel Nixon was born in Virginia, and, living some years in South Carolina, re- 
moved from thence in 1809, to the Mississippi Territory. He was among the first to 
^'J^ 86 /" 068 ^defence of his country. During the Creek war, Colonel Nixon, at 
!?fZ,lH , nS ,! e 1 rabl , eforce ' scoured the swamps of the Ferdido and other streams, 
hJmar^P,?£\^ After he had accomplished all he could 

he marched to the head of the Perdido, where he divided his command, sending Major 
\Villiam Peacock, with the troops of the 39th, to the Boat Yard, on Lake Tensaw, while 
nffin£ ™h «? e re , luai < nder of Ins command to Fort Claiborne. He was an excellent 
25,^ ' Jl 8e - rved in * he war untl1 lts final conclusion. He was a member of the con- 
r?pn,£«tV^^ of Mississippi, and was, afterwards, 

frequently a State Senator. He died in Perlington, Mississippi, in 1824. He was a large 
and fane-looking man, with fair complexion, and was very popular. fe 



574 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



son, and one hundred and fifty Choctaws, under Pushmatahaw 
numbering, in the aggregate, near one thousand men. A few 
days before, nine captains, eight lieutenants, and five ensigns, 
signed a remonstrance, in respectful language, against the march 
to the nation, and presented it to the general. They set forth 
that the time of service of many would soon expire, that the 
weather was cold, that they were too scantily supplied with cloth- 
ing and food for such a campaign, and that the route to the 
enemy's towns was entirely a pathless one; but they stated 
their willingness to obey, if Claiborne should resolve to pro- 
ceed. 

Claiborne moved in a northeastern direction, until 
1813 he reached the high lands south of Double Swamp, at 
Dec. the distance of eighty miles, where he built a depot, 
called Fort Deposite, situated in the present county of 
Butler, and where he left the wagons, cannon, baggage and the 
sick, with one hundred men, as a guard. Thirty miles further 
brought him into the immediate neighborhood of the Holy 
Ground, which had been reached without the aid of a single 
1 path. The pork being exhausted, the troops were in a suffering 
condition, for they had only drawn, when leaving Fort Deposite, 
three days' allowance of flour. Econachaca (Holy Ground) had 
recently been erected by Weatherford, the prophets having 
assured the Indians that here no white man could approach 
without instant destruction. It was strongly fortified in the 
Indian manner, and had for some months formed a point to which 
those who had been routed in battle retreated, and where a great 
amount of plunder had been stored. It was situated upon a bluff, 
on the eastern side of the Alabama river, just below the present 
Powell's Ferry, in the county of Lowndes. Here many of the 
white prisoners and friendly Indians were burned to death, by 
order of the prophets, and when Claiborne was almost within 
sight of the town with his advancing army, Mrs. Sophia Durant 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GPOUXD, ETC. 575 

and many other friendly half-breeds were mustered in the square 
and surrounded by lightwood fires, designed to consume them. 

The troops advanced toward the town in three col- 
umns, the centre commanded by Colonel Russell, at the 1813 
head of which was Claiborne himself, Lester's guards Dec. 23 
and Wells' dragoons acting as a corps of reserve. 

At noon Carson's right column came in view of the town, and 
was vigorously attacked by the enemy, who had chosen their 
field of action. The town was nearly surrounded with swamps 
and deep ravines, so that the enemy, who afterwards retreated, 
could not be successfully pursued. Major Cassels, who had been 
directed to form his battalion of horse on the river bank, west of 
the town, failing to effect such a movement, fell back on the head 
of Carson's regiment, who, however, advanced and took his posi- 
tion. The third regiment, coming up in gallant style, did its 
duty. Major Smoot assumed his position in a proper manner, 
and all would have been right if Cassels' cavalry had not failed 
to obey orders, thereby permitting hundreds of the enemy to es- 
cape along the Alabama river, by the western border of the town. 
The Indians, headed by Weatherford, for a short time fought with 
considerable fury, but afterwards fled with great rapidity. The 
short engagement resulted in the death of thirty Indians and 
negroes, whose bodies were afterwards counted upon the field. 
Many must have been severely wounded. Lucket, an American 
ensign, was killed, and twenty men were wounded. 

Several hours before the battle began the Indian women and 
children had been conveyed across the river, and were securely 
lodged in the thick forests of the region now familiarly known as 
the Dutch Bend of Autauga county. Here the retreat- 
ing warriors, some of whom came over in boats, while 1813 
others swam, joined them. Weatherford, seeing that Dec. 23 
his forces had deserted him, now pushed hard for his 
own safety. Coursing with great rapidity along the banks of the 
Alabama, below the town, on a gray steed of unsurpassed 



576 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



strength and fleetness — which he had purchased a short time 
before the commencement of hostilities of Benjamin Baldwin, late 
of Macon county — came at length to the termination of a kind of 
ravine, where there was a perdendicular bluff ten or fifteen feet 
above the surface of the river. Over this, with a mighty bound, 
the horse pitched with the gallant Chief, and both went out of 
sight beneath the waves. Presently they rose again, the rider 
having hold of the mane with one hand and his rifle firmly 
grasped in the other. Regaining his saddle the noble animal 
swam with him to the Autauga side.* 

Claiborne reduced the town of the Holy Ground to ashes. 
He then despatched the cavalry to Ward's place up the 

1813 river, who, before reaching there, fell in with three 
Dec. 24 Shawnees of distinction, retreating from the battle, 

whom they killed. The firing being heard at the camp, 
Claiborne struck his tents and marched in that direction during 
the night. Encamping at Weatherford's place in an open field, 
the cold rains descended in torrents upon the troops, and Christ- 
mas morning found them engaged in parching corn for breakfast, 
which was the only thing left to eat. After destroying some 

houses and farms, the army marched back to Fort De- 
Dec. 26 posite, and from thence to Fort Claiborne, where, the 

term of service of Carson's Mississippi volunteers and 
cavalry having expired, they were mustered out of service. 

Colonel Russell, now left in sole command of Fort Claiborne, 
preferred charges against Major Cassels for disobedience of orders 

at the Holy Ground, and a court of inquiry, composed of 

1814 Captain Woodruff, president, Captain J. E.Denkins and 
Jan. 1 Lieutenant H. Chotard, decided that Sam McNac, the 

guide, was chiefly to blame for the failure of Cassels to 
occupy the position which had been assigned him. Another 



* Extravagant tales have often been told of Weatherford's leap, and a bluff at or near 
the site of the Holy Ground town, which is probably eighty or a hundred feet high, is 
often pointed out as the one over which he charged. The account I have given is 
Weatherford's own statement of the affair. 



CANOE FIGHT, BATTLE OF HOLY GROUND, ETC. 577 

court of inquiry, composed of Colonel Carson and Lieutenant 
Wilcox, decided that the contractor of the army was solely to 
blame for the perishing condition of the expedition, as General 
Claiborne had given him ample instructions to furnish abundant 
supplies. The command had been entirely without meat for 
nine days. 

General Claiborne wrote to the Secretary of War, from Mount 
Vernon, that he had been left with but sixty men, whose 
time lacked only a month of expiring; that his other Jan. 24 
volunteers, who had been disbanded, had gone home 
naked and without shoes, with eight months pay due them ; and 
that his army, being thus broken up, he intended to return home 
as soon as he received permission from General Flournoy.* 

Having planned an expedition against the enemy. Colonel 
Russell despatched Captain Den kins up the Alabama from Fort 
Claiborne in command of a barge, laden with provisions, 
and defended by a piece of artillery, with instructions Feb. 1 
to enter the Cahawba river, and to ascend it to the 
H Old Towns," where his army would shortly join him. After- 
wards, marching the larger portion of his regiment to the 
cross-roads, in Clarke county, four miles north of the present 
Sugsville, he was there joined by a company commanded by 
Captain Evan Austill and Lieutenant G. W. Creagh, and Captain 
Foster's horse company, both under the command of Major Sam- 
uel Dale. Leaving this place, with six days rations, Colonel Rus- 
sell reached the Cahawba Old Towns, where he was mortified to 
find that Captain Denkins had not arrived — nor had he encoun- 
tered, on the way, a solitary Indian. Despatching Lieutenant 
Wilcox in a canoe, with five men, with directions to find Den- 
kins and hasten him on, that officer proceeded down the Ca- 
hawba, upset his boat the first night, wet his ammunition, and 
lost two of his guns. Recovering the canoe, however, and pro- 

* Claiborne's MS. papers. Conversations with the late Colonel Creagh, General 
Patrick May, of Greene, and others. 

37 



578 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

ceeding down the river, lying by in the cane in the day time, he 
was, in the evening of the second day, fired upon by a party of 
Indians. The two Wilsons, who belonged to this expedition, 
made their escape, and reached the lower settlements many days 
after, in a starving condition. One of them, Mathew, was found 
by Hais Rodgers, on the ridge road of Clarke. Lieutenant Wil- 
cox and the other three were made prisoners by the Indians, who 
proceeded with them down the Cahawba, into the Alabama. In 
the meantime, Denkins, unfortunately passing the mouth of the 
Cahawba by mistake, had ascended some distance up the Ala- 
bama, and was now returning to Fort Claiborne, knowing that 
the army could not wait for him, but would return to that place 
likewise. The Indians, going down the river also, descried the 
barge, and fearing to lose their prisoners, tomahawked and 
scalped Wilcox and his three companions, leaving them in their 
canoe. When the canoe and the barge came together Wilcox was 
still alive, but too far gone to give any account of the particulars 
of his capture, or of Russell's expedition. The body of this gal- 
lant young officer, being found upon the Alabama, where it 
meanders through the region between Canton and Prairie Bluff, 
the legislature appropriately preserved his memory, by giving 
the county his name. 

Colonel Russell remained two days at the Cahawba Old 
Towns, in which time one of his men was killed by some skulk- 
ing savages. Despairing of the arrival of the barge, he 
1814 began the return march, without any provisions; and 
Feb. setting the example himself, in having his best horse 
killed for subsistence, twelve animals of that kind were 
devoured by the perishing troops. At Bradford's Pond they 
were timely relieved by wagons, laden with abundant provisions, 
and arriving again at the cross-roads, were disbanded, the regu- 
lars marching to Fort Claiborne.* 

* Conversations with Colonel Girard W. Creagh, late of Clarke county. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Battles of Emuckfau, Enitachopco and Calebee. 

Since the battle of Talladega, Jackson had encountered innum- 
erable difficulties and mortifications, owing to the failure of con- 
tractors and the mutiny of his troops, who were finally reduced 
to one hundred men by the expiration of their time of service. 
He was now compelled to employ Cherokees to garrison Fort 
Armstrong, upon the Coosahatchie, and protect the stores at 
Ross's. Almost alone, in a savage land, he yet constantly rode 
between Fort Strother and Ditto's Landing to hasten supplies 
for the new army, which he had employed Governor Blount to 
raise for him. At last two regiments, one of them commanded 
by Colonel Perkins and the other by Colonel Higgins, numbering 
together eight hundred and fifty men, who had only en- 
listed for sixty days, reached Fort Strother. Well un- 1814 
derstanding the character of minute men like these, who Jan. 14 
must be constantly employed, Jackson immediately 
marched them across the Coosa to the late battle ground of Tal- 
ladega, where he was joined by two hundred Cherokees 
and Creeks, who evinced great alarm at the weakness Jan. 16 
which the command presented. Continuing the march 
towards the Tallapoosa, the army encamped at Enitachopco, a 
Hillabee village, and the next day fell into many fresh 
beaten trails, indicating the proximity of a large force. 1814 
Here Jackson determined to halt for the purpose of re- Jan. 21 
connoitre. Before dark his encampment was formed, 
his army thrown into a hollow square, his pickets and spies sent 
out, his sentinels doubled, and his fires lighted some distance out- 

579 



580 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

side of the lines. About ten o'clock at night one of the pickets fir- 
ing upon three of the enemy succeeded in killing one, and at the 
hour of eleven the spies reported a large encampment three miles 
distant, where the savages were whooping and dancing, and, be- 
ing apprised of the approach of the Americans, were sending off 

their women and children. 
Jan. 22 About six o'clock in the morning the Indians sud- 

denly fell upon Jackson's flank, and upon the left of his 
rear, maintaining a vigorous attack for a half hour. General 
Coffee, Adjutant-General Sitler, and Inspector-General Carroll 
rode rapidly to the scene of action as soon as the firing com- 
menced, animating the men, who firmly kept the assailants at 
bay. Morning shed its light upon the exciting scene, enabling 
Captain Terrill's infantry to reinforce the left flank, when the 
whole line was led to the charge by General Coffee, supported by 
Colonels Higgins and Carroll and the friendly Indians, which 
forced the savages to abandon the ground in a rapid manner. 
They were pursued with slaughter for two miles. Coffee being- 
then ordered, with four hundred men and the friendly Indians, 
to burn up their encampment, advanced, and, finding it strongly 
fortified, returned for the artillery. Shortly afterwards, a body 
of the enemy boldly advanced and attacked the right wing of 
Jackson's encampment. Coffee again charged, but, through mis- 
take, only forty-five men followed him, composing his own com- 
pany of volunteer officers ; but the friendly Indians were sent by 
Jackson to his support. Dismounting his men, he now pursued 
the " Red Sticks " to the swamp of a creek.* 

Jackson had ordered his left flank to remain firm, and now 
the Indians came rushing with yells against it. Repairing to 
that point, and ordering up Captain Terrill to his support, the 
whole line received the enemy with intrepidity, and, after a few 
fires, advanced to the charge under the impetuous Carroll. Again 

* The Indian war-party were often called the " Red Sticks," because their war-clubs 
were invariably painted red. 



E3VIUCKFAU, ENITACHOPCO AND CALEBEE. 581 

the Red Sticks fled before the bayonet, the Americans pursuing 
some distance, and marking their trails with blood. In the 
meantime, Coffee kept the enemy, who had now returned upon 
him from the swamp, at bay until Jackson strengthened him 
with a reinforcement of a hundred friendly warriors, at the head 
of whom was Jim Fife. Coffee again charged, when the Red 
Sticks once more gave way, and the pursuit was continued for 
three miles, with the loss of forty-five savages. 

The brave Creeks had now been repulsed in every attempt, 
but they exhibited a ferocity and courage which commanded the 
serious consideration of Jackson, whose force was weaker than 
he desired. The horses had been without cane and without corn 
for two days, and but few rations remained for the men. The 
wounded were numerous, and the enemy would doubtless soon 
be reinforced. Jackson determined to return to Fort Strother 
with all possible despatch. The remainder of the day was em- 
ployed in collecting and burying the dead, dressing the wounded 
and fortifying the camp; but the morning dawned without an- 
other attack.* 

The army began the retrograde march about ten o'clock a. m., 
bearing the wounded, among whom was Coffee, in litters, con- 
structed of the hides of the slain horses. Jackson reached Enita- 
chopco before night without molestation, and fortified himself at 
a place a quarter of a mile from the creek, around which 
the Red Sticks prowled, but refrained from attack. 1814 
Dreading an onset at the ford of the creek, by which his Jan. 23 
army had passed a few days before, and which afforded 
great facilities for Indian ambuscades, the commander despatched 
spies in search of a less exposed crossing place. Six hundred 
yards lower down was selected, and thither he advanced 
his troops in the morning. Carroll commanded the Jan. 24 
rear guard, Colonel Perkins the right column, and 

* The battle of Emuckfau was fought near a creek of that name, which runs south into 
the Tallapoosa river, in Tallapoosa county, Alabama. 



582 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Colonel Stump the left. In case of attack, Carroll was to face 
about, display and maintain his position, while the other two 
colonels were to face outward, wheel back on their pivots, and 
attack the Red Sticks on both flanks. 

The wounded and the front guard had passed the creek, and 
as Jackson was upon the eastern bank, superintending the cross- 
ing of the army, an alarm gun was heard, which was succeeded 
by a fierce attack of the savages upon the rear -guard of Captain 
Russell's spies. Colonel Carroll ordered the rear-guard to halt 
and form, when the right and left columns, seized by a sudden 
panic, fled without firing a gun, drawing after them most of the 
centre, with their officers foremost in the flight, at the head of 
whom was Colonel Stump, who came plunging down the bank, 
near the exasperated commander-in-chief, who made an unsuc- 
cessful effort to cut him down with his sword. With only twenty- 
five men, under Captain Quarles, Carroll gallantly checked the 
advance of the Red Sticks. The artillery was under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Armstrong, in the absence of Captain Dead- 
rick, who now ordered his company, armed with muskets, to 
advance to the top of the hill, while he, with Constantine Perkins 
and a few others, dragged up the six-pounder from the middle of 
the creek. Instantly in their position, they maintained it against 
ten times their number, until Armstrong reached them with his 
piece. Discovering that, in the hurry of separating the gun from 
the limbers, the rammer and pricker had been left tied 
1814 to the latter, with wonderful presence of mind, and while 
Jan. 24 Indian bullets rattled like hail around them, Constan- 
tine Perkins and Craven Jackson, two of the gunners, 
supplied the deficiency. Perkins took off his bayonet, and 
rammed the cartridge home with his musket, and Jackson, 
drawing his ramrod, employed it as a pricker, priming with a 
musket cartridge * The six-pounder was thus twice charged, 

* Constantine Perkins was born in Knox county, Tennessee, the 17th August, 1792. 
He graduated at Cumberland College in 1813, and was with Jackson at the battle of 
Talladega in Carroll's advance guard, where he greatly distinguished himself. Refusing 



EMUCKFAU, ENITACHOPCO AND CALEBEE. 583 



pouring grape among the savages, then only a few yards distant. 
Several comrades of these men fell around them, and, after the 
second fire, the little artillery company furiously charged on the 
assailants, who became more cautious in their approaches. Cap- 
tain Gordon's spies, in front of the army when the alarm was 
given, made a circuit and attacked the left flank of the Indians. 
At the same time, a number of the rear-guard and flankers, 
rallied by Jackson, re-crossed the creek and joined in the fight. 
The savages, finding that the whole army was now brought 
against them, fled, throwing away their packs and leaving upon 
the field the bodies of twenty -six warriors. 

One hundred and eighty-nine bodies of the enemy were 
counted upon the fields of Emuckfau and Enitachopco. The loss of 
the Americans was twenty killed and seventy-five wounded, 
several of whom afterwards died. Major A. Donaldson was 
killed at Emuckfau. Captain Hamilton, Lieutenant Armstrong, 
Bird Evans, Hiram Bradford and Jacob McGivock were severely 
wounded. The first named afterwards died. Jackson, in his re- 
port, spoke in the highest terms of the bravery of these men, and 
also of that of Captains Sitler, Quarles, Elliott and Pipkin, and 
Colonel Higgins. He also mentioned the gallantry of the ven- 
erable Judge Cocke, who, at the age of sixty-five, was in the 
midst of these battles. 

The army continued its march to Fort Strother, where Jack- 
son ordered the sixty day volunteers to march to Huntsville for 
honorable discharge, at the same time granting to Coffee and his 
officers the privilege of returning home, until the government 
again demanded their services, to all of whom he ad- 
dressed a kind letter, commending their patriotism and 1814 
bravery. A court martial acquitted Colonel Perkins of Jan. 28 

to abandon Jackson in a hostile land, he remained with the small number who adhered 
to him In the .two battles at Emuckfau, he fought side by side with the bravest. 
When the Creek war was at an end, he studied law at Nashville. He was elected solici- 
tor of one of the Tennessee circuits, but, removing to Alabama in 1819, was elected 
solicitor of the third circuit, which office he held until 1826, when he was elected attor- 
ney-general. In 1834. the people of Tuscaloosa county placed him in the State Senate, 
of which he was a member until the 17th September, 1836, when he died. 



. r )H 1 IIIHTOIIY OF AI-AI'.AMA 



tin- charge of cowardice, at the battle of Enitachopco; but Colonel 
si, iimp w;is found guilty, :tn*i cashiered.* 

Such La tbe American account of these engagementB. The 
brave natives of Alabama bad do writers among them to record 
their achievements. Several Chiefs and Leading warriors, who 
were in the battles <>r Emuckfau and Enitachopco, have stated to 
as that they "whipped Captain .Jackson, and run him to the 
Coosa river," Tbe authors who have written upon these cam- 
paigns speak of the weakness of the American force, it con- 
sisted of seven hundred and sixty-seven men, with two hundred 
friendly Indians. Wc are enabled to state, with confidence, that 
the force of tbe Red sticks, in these battles, did not exceed five 
bundred warriors, for the Larger body bad assembled below, to 
at, tack Floyd, while others were fortifying the Horse-Shoe, and 

various other places. 

It has been seen that the Georgia army, after the battle of 
Aui, lose, reined to the Chattahoochie. There, for more than six 
weeks, it bad reposed, for the want, of expected supplies. When 

General Floyd recovered from his WOUnd, he again marched to 

tbe seat <>f war, with a force <>r twelve hundred and twenty- 
seven, rank and tile, hesides a company Of cavalry and four hun- 
dred friendly Indians. His destination being the town of 
Tookabatoha, lie established posts upon the route, for tin; pur- 
pose <>f keeping up a. communication and facilitating tint trans- 
portation <>f supplies. Marching from post to post, as they were 
established, he at length encamped on 1,1k; Calebee Creek, upon 
the high lands bordering its swamp.1 

At, twenty minutes past live o'clock in the morning, tin; Hod 

sticks, who had secreted themselves in the swamp during 

i * i i tbe latter part ol the night, sprung upon the Georgians 

Jan. 27 like tigers, driving in their sentinels, and taking the 

whole army by surprise. In twenty minutes the action 



• Kendall i Life ->i Jaojcion, pp. 252 264. \V:ii<i<>, Baton, eto. 

I 1 IiIm iiiiI. i huh in ;i tlOl I liwi- 1 1 i n d 1 1 <•< I ion, I hroiij'.li iM;uuii county, A l;il»;uii;i. 



EMUCKFAU, ENITACHOPCO AND CALEBEB. 585 

became general, and the front right and left flanks of the Ameri- 
cans were closely pressed, but the enemy was met at every point. 
The front line was preserved by the steady fire of the artillery, un- 
der Captain Thomas, aided by the riflemen of Captain Adams. 
These troops suffered severely, for the enemy rushed within thirty 
yards of the cannon. Captain John Broadnax, who commanded 
one of the picket guards, maintained his post, until a party of In- 
dians had cut off his retreat to the main army. In this desperate 
situation his resolute band cut their way through to their friends, 
assisted by Timpoochy Barnard, a half-breed, at the head of some 
I'diees. The other friendly Indians, with a few exceptions, tak- 
ing refuge within the lines, remained alarmed and inactive while 
the battle lasted. When day appeared the battalions of Majors 
Watson and Freeman were ordered to wheel up at right angles. 
Those of Majors Booth and Cleavland, who formed the right 
wing, received the same order, while Captain Hamilton's cavalry 
was instructed to form in the rear of the right wing, to act as 
circumstances required. A charge was now made, and the Red 
Sticks gave way before the bayonet. The cavalry, falling upon 
them, made considerable havoc, and followed by the friendly In- 
dians and the rifle companies of Merriweather and Ford pursued 
them through Calebee swamp. From the traces of blood and the 
number of head-dresses and war-clubs found in various directions, 
the loss of the enemy must have been considerable. In the com- 
mencement of the action Colonel Newnan was wounded by three 
balls, which deprived the commander of the services of that gal- 
lant and useful officer. Adjutant-General Narden, whose horse 
was wounded under him, performed important services, while the 
aid-de-camp of Floyd also had his horse killed under him. His 
additional aids, General Lee and Major Face, acted in a manner 
highly honorable to themselves and useful to the army. The loss 
of the Americans was seventeen killed and one hundred and 
thirty-two wounded, to which must be added the loss of the 
friendly Indians, who had five killed and fifteen wounded. The 



586 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Georgians fought with great resolution ; but, assailed before day, 
with no fortifications around them, the Indians, until the charge 
was made, had the advantage, and made use of it.* The 
large number of wounded Georgians, the proximity of the enemy, 
who continued to hover around them, indicating a disposition to 
renew the attack, were reasons deemed sufficient by Floyd for 
relinquishing the main object of the expedition, retracing his 

steps, and awaiting further reinforcements. He accord- 

1814 ingly marched from Calebee to Fort Hull, one of his 

Feb. 2 newly erected posts, and the next night the Indians were 

in possession of the battle field. Leaving at Fort Hull a 
small garrison, he returned to Fort Mitchell, upon the Chatta- 
hoochie, which he believed, from information, was soon to be 
attacked. Although the Georgia army had gallantly maintained 
their ground at the battle of Calebee, the Indians stopped their 
further march into the nation, and caused them in a few days to 
retreat.f 

General Jackson had employed the few militia who remained 
with him at Fort Strother, after the battles of Emuckfau and 
Enitachopco, in constructing flat-boats to descend the Coosa with 
stores for the use of the new army then being raised in Tennes- 
see, which was to operate below. The Kialigee Chiefs, whose 

neutrality Jackson had viewed with suspicion, becoming 

1814 alarmed, paid him a visit, and disclosed that the Ufau- 

Feb.15 las, New-Yaucas and Ocfuskes, the remnant of the Hil- 

labees, the Fish Ponds, and many Red Sticks from 
other towns, were then in a bend of the Tallapoosa, and on an 
island near Emuckfau, where they had resolved to defend them- 
selves to the last extremity. This information determined him 
to march upon them. 

When the army arrived at Fort Strother, he embarked the 

* Zachariah McGirth, bearing a despatch from General Claiborne to Floyd, passed 
through the Calebee swamp late in the night, while it must have been filled with the 
enemy, and strangely reached the American camp in safety. 

t Russell's History of the Late War, pp. 242-243. Waldo's Life of Jackson, pp. 124-126. 
Kendall's Life of Jackson, p. 240. 



EMUCKFAU, ENITACHOPCO AND CALEBEE. 587 

stores in the flat-boats, which were to proceed down the Coosa 
in charge of the thirty-ninth regiment, and, leaving a 
garrison of four hundred and fifty men in Fort Strother, March 
under the command of Colonel Steele, he began the 15-16 
march, for the third time, toward the seat of war. 
Within five days, Jackson reached the mouth of Cedar Creek, 
having been retarded by the cutting out of thirty miles of the 
road. The boats, in descending the river, meeting with some ob- 
structions, finally reached this point also, where a fort 
was immediately commenced, which Jackson called Fort Mar. 22 
Williams, in honor of the commander of the thirty-ninth 
regiment. A detachment returned to the camp, and reported 
that they had burned two Indian towns, lower down, but had 
seen no Red Sticks. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

Battle of the Horse-Shoe — Weatherford Surrenders Him- 
self at Fort Jackson. 

Leaving a guard at Fort Williams, General Jackson put his 
army, which consisted of two thousand men, upon the 
1814 march. He opened a passage across the ridge which di- 
March vides the Coosa and Tallapoosa, and, in three days ad- 
24-27 vanced to the immediate neighborhood of the enemy. 
Cholocco Litabixee — the Horse- Shoe — where the 
Red Sticks had assembled to make a desperate defence, was ad- 
mirably adapted by nature for security if well guarded, but 
equally for destructiou if not well defended. About one hundred 
acres of land was bordered by the Tallapoosa river, forming a 
peninsula. Across the neck of the bend, the Red Sticks had a 
breast-work of logs, so arranged as to expose assailants to a 
cross-fire. The houses of the village stood upon some low grounds 
at the bottom of the bend, where hundreds of canoes were tied 
to the banks of the river. The warriors of Hillabee, Ocfuske, 
Oakchoie, Eufaulahatche, New-Yauca, Hickory Ground and Fish 
Pond towns had concentrated upon the remarkable peninsula. 
General Coffee, with a large body of mounted men, and the 
friendly Indians, forded the Tallapoosa two miles below the 
breast-work, and, having gained the eastern side, ex- 
1814 tended his lines for a great distance, so as to encom- 
Morning pass the bend. As soon as Jackson saw, from signals 
of which were made, that Coffee had taken his position, 

Mar. 27 he marched the remainder of his force towards the 
breast-work, planted two pieces of artillery, eighty 

588 



BATTLE OF THE HORSE-SHOE. 589 

yards distant from the nearest part of the Indian defence, and, 
at ten o'clock in the morning, began to open them upon the en- 
emy. These pieces, accompanied by occasional discharges from 
the muskets and rifles, effected but little. In the meanwhile, the 
Cherokees, under Coffee, swimming the river, took possession of 
the canoes, and returning with them to the opposite bank, they 
were presently filled with friendly Indians and Americans, the 
latter headed by Colonel Morgan and Captain Russell. They 
reached the town and wrapped it in flames. Jackson then ordered 
his troops to storm the breast-work, behind which all the warriors 
had posted themselves. A short contest was maintained at the 
port-holes, but presently the impetuous Americans mounted the 
breast- work, and, dyeing the huge logs with their blood and that 
of the enemy, they finally, after a most desperate struggle, be- 
came masters of the interior. The Red Sticks, now assailed 
in front by Jackson, who had taken possession of their 
breast-work, and attacked from behind by a portion of Cof- 
fee's troops, who had just completed the conflagration of their 
village, fought under great disadvantages. However, none of 
them begged for quarter, but every one sold his life at the 
dearest rate. After a long fight, many of them fled and at- 
tempted to swim the river, but were killed on all sides by the 
unerring rifles of the Tennesseans. Others screened themselves 
behind tree-tops and thick piles of timber. Being desirous not to 
destroy this brave race, Jackson sent a messenger towards them, 
who assured them of the clemency of the general, provided they 
would surrender. They answered by discharges from their guns 
and shouts of defiance. The artillery was then ineffectually 
brought to bear upon them. The Americans then applied fire to 
their retreat, which soon forced them to fly, and, as they ran, 
they were killed by American guns. It was late in the 
evening before the dreadful battle ended. The Red 1814 
Sticks numbered about one thousand warriors, and, out Mar. 27 
of that number, five hundred and fifty-seven were found 



590 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

dead on the peninsula.* As many were killed in the river, by 
Coffee's troops, while they were endeavoring to swim over, it 
may be safely stated that not more than two hundred survived. 
Some of them long afterwards suffered with the most grievous 
wounds. Manowa, one of the bravest Chiefs that ever lived, was 
literally shot to pieces. He fought as long as he could. He 
saved himself by jumping into the river, where the water was 
four feet deep. He held to a root, and thus kept himself beneath 
the waves, breathing through the long joint of a cane, one end of 
which he held in his mouth, and while the other end came above 
the surface of the water. When night set in the brave Manowaf 
rose from his watery bed, and made his way to the forest, bleed- 
ing from many wounds. Many years after the war, we con- 
versed with this Chief, and learned from him the particulars of 
his remarkable escape. His face, limbs and body, at the time we 
conversed with him, were marked with the scars of many horri- 
ble wounds. Another Chief was shot down, among a number of 
slain warriors, and, with admirable presence of mind, saved his 
life, by drawing over him the bodies of two of them, under which 
he lay, till the darkness of the night permitted him to leave the 
horrible place. 

The loss of the Americans was thirty-two killed and ninety- 
nine wounded. The friendly Cherokees had eighteen killed and 
thirty-six wounded. The tory Creeks had five killed and eleven 
wounded. Among the slain were Major L. P. Montgomery and 
Lieutenants Moulton and Somerville, who fell in the charge upon 
the breast-works. 

Major Lemuel Purnell Montgomery was born in Wythe 
county, Virginia, in 1786. He was a relation, by consangui- 
nity, of the gallant general of that name, who fell at the 
storming of Quebec. His grandfather, Hugh Montgomery, 
of North Carolina, a man of fortune and talents, commanded 

* Kendall, Eaton, and Waldo's Lives of Jackson. 

t Known by the American settlers as •' Old Manorway." 



battle of the horse-shoe. 595 

" Any max who would kill as brave a max as this would 
rob the dead !" 

He then invited Weatherford to alight, drank a glass of 
brandy with him, and entered into a cheerful conversation, under 
his hospitable marquee. Weatherford gave him the 
deer, and they were then good friends. He took no fur- 1814 
ther part in the war, except to influence his warriors to April 
surrender .* He went to the place of his former resi- 
dence, upon Little river, but soon had to leave it, as his life was 
in constant danger. 

He then went to Fort Claiborne, and the commanding officer 
of that place saved him from being killed, by placing him in 
a tent by himself, which was pitched very near the marquee, 
and which was constantly guarded by a file of soldiers. Af- 
ter he had been kept there ten or fifteen days, the com- 
manding officer became still more uneasy, for fear he would 
be killed by persons who had lost relations at Fort Mims, 
and who were bent on his destruction. He now resolved to 
send him beyond the lines, during a dark night. About 
midnight, he sent his aid, followed by Weatherford, to the sta- 
tion of Major Laval, who was then a captain, and the officer 
on guard. He said, u Captaid Laval, the commanding officer 
says you must take Weatherford to yonder tree, under which 
you will find a horse tied, and that he must mount the 
horse and make his escape." Captain Laval instantly told 
Weatherford to follow him. He passed by the guard, giving the 
countersign, and reached the tree. Weatherford eagerly seized 
the limb to which the horse was tied, threw the reins over the 
animal's head, shook Laval by the hand, and said, in earnest and 
grateful tones, " Good-bye ! God bless you ! " He then vaulted 
into the saddle and rode off rapidly. That was the last time he 

* Such is the account of Weatherford's interview with Jackson, as related by the 
Chieftain himself, to Colonel Robert James of Clark, William Sisemore, ot Little river, 
and many other persons. The incorrect statements of Eaton, in his Life of Jackson, 
are doubtless based entirely upon camp gossip. 



596 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

ever saw Weatherford. For the distance of one mile, at least, 
Laval heard the clattering of the horse's feet.* 

After the war was over, Weatherford became a permanent 
citizen of the lower part of the county of Monroe, where, upon a 
good farm, well supplied with negroes, he lived, maintained an 
excellent character, and was much respected by the American 
citizens for his bravery, honor and strong native sense. In 1826 
he died from the effects of fatigue, produced by a desperate bear 
hunt. 

Many persons yet living bear testimony to the bravery and 
honor of William Weatherford in private life, an instance of 
which we here take occasion to mention : 

In 1820, many people assembled at the sale of the effects of 

the deceased Duncan Henderson, in the lower part of Monroe 

county, Alabama. An old man, named Bradberry — the father 

of the gallant lieutenant, who fought at Burnt Corn, and who 

was afterwards killed in another action — was cruelly 

1820 murdered upon this occasion by one C r, who 

plunged a long knife into the back of his neck. The 

murderer had an accomplice, one' F r, who was in pursuit of 

Bradberry at the same time, and who had, a few moments be- 
fore, broken a pitcher over his head. These men were so desper- 
ate, and flourished their knives with such defiance, that Justice 
Henderson in vain called upon the bystanders to seize them, 
while the poor, unoffending old Bradberry lay weltering in his 
blood. 

Shocked at the cowardly and brutal act, and provoked at the 
timidity of the bystanders, William Weatherford, who lived in that 
neighborhood, now advanced towards Henderson, and said in a 
loud voice: "These, I suppose, are white men's laws. You 
stand aside and see a man, an old man, killed, and not one of you 
will avenge his blood. If he had one drop of Indian blood mixed 
with that which runs upon the ground there, I would instantly 

* Conversations with Major Laval, a resident of Charleston, S. C 



BATTLE OF THE HORSE-SHOE. 597 



kill his murderers, at the risk of my life." Justice Henderson 
implored him to take them, and, being assured that the white 
man's law would not hurt him, but that he would be commended 
for the act, Weatherford now drew forth his long, silver-handled 
butcher-knife and advanced towards the murderers, who stood 
forty paces off, threatening to kill the first man who should at- 
tempt to arrest them. He first advanced to C r, who, trem- 
bling at his approach, let his knife drop by his side, and 
instantly surrendered. Seizing him by the throat, he 1820 
said to the bystanders, "Here, tie the d— d rascal." 

Then, going up to F r, upon whom he flashed his tiger eyes, 

he also arrested him without the least opposition— F r ex- 
claiming, " I will not resist you, Billy Weatherford." 

General Picknney arriving at Fort Jackson, and 
being the senior officer of the Southern army, assumed 1814 
the command and approved of all the acts of Jackson. April 20 
Learning that the Indians were generally submitting, 
he ordered the West Tennessee troops to march home. April 21 
Two hours after the order was issued they were in 
motion. Arriving at Camp Blount, near Fayetteville, Jackson 
discharged them, after gratifying them with a feeling address. 
He then repaired to the Hermitage, from which he had been 
absent eighteen months, in a hostile land, and, a portion of the 
time, almost alone. 

Pinckney remained at Fort Jackson with the troops from 
the two Carolinas and those from East Tennessee. Four hun- 
dred of General Dougherty's brigade of East Tennesseans were 
stationed at Fort Williams. General Johnson, at the head of five 
hundred men, had been dispatched to the Cahawba river, who 
proceeded to its source and joined Jackson before he reached the 
Tennessee river. Several detachments were sent forth from Fort 
Jackson, who scoured the country in all directions for the fugi- 
tive Red Sticks. Colonel Hawkins performed several trips to 
the Chattahoochie, and exerted himself to induce the wretched 



598 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Creeks to surrender and terminate a war which had proved so 
disastrous to them. But the British at Pensacola were 
July 1 endeavoring to rally them. Two vessels had anchored 
at the mouth of the Apalachicola, and had landed five 
thousand stand of arms and abundant ammunition, and three 
hundred British troops had commenced a fortification, under the 
command of a colonel. Runners were sent to all parts of the 
nation, inviting the Indians to rush to that point for provisions 
and military supplies, and thither many of the Red Sticks re- 
paired. The condition of the friendly Indians, too, was at this 
time most wretched, and upwards of five thousand of them were 
fed at the different American posts.* 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 857-860. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

Treaty of Fort Jackson — Attack Upon Mobile Point — 
March Upon Pensacola. 

On the resignations of Generals Hamilton and Harrison, 
Jackson had been promoted to the rank of major-general. Leav- 
ing the Hermitage once more, he proceeded with a small 
escort to Fort Jackson, where he safely arrived, and 1814 
assumed the command of the Southern army. He had July 10 
been empowered by the Federal Government to conclude 
a treaty of peace with the Creek nation. After much opposition 
from the Big Warrior and other Chiefs to the surrender 
of the territory which was demanded, a treaty was Aug. 9 
signed. It was stipulated that a line should commence 
upon the Coosa, at the southern boundary, of the Cherokee nation, 
and continue down that river to Wetumpka, and thence east-" 
wardly to Georgia. East and north of that line, containing up- 
wards of one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, re- 
mained to the Indians. West and south of it was secured to 
the United States. This territory was obtained as an indemnifi- 
cation foi* the expenses incurred by the government in prosecuting 
the war. Before the treaty was signed the Big Warrior ad- 
dressed Jackson and Hawkins in a long speech, and tendered 
them, in the name of the friendly Chiefs, a reserv?vtion of three 
miles square of land each, " to be chosen where you like, from 
that we are going to give, as near as you can to us, for we want 
you to live by us and give us your advice." To George Mayfield 
and Alexander Curnells, their interpreters, they also gave one 
mile square each. Jackson accepted of this national mark of re- 

599 



600 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



gard for him if approved by the President, who, he said, " would 
doubtless appropriate its value in aid of your naked women and 
children." Colonel Hawkins said : 

" I have been long among you — I have grown grey in your 
service — I shall not much longer be your agent. You all know 
that when applied to by red, black or white, I looked not to color, 
but to the justice of the claim. I shall continue to be friendly 
and useful to you while I live, and my children, born among you, 
will be so brought up as to do the same. I accept your present, 
and esteem it the more highly by the manner of bestowing it, as 
it resulted from the impulse of your own minds, and not from 
any intimation from the general or me."* 

Among other gallant officers present upon this occasion 
was Colonel Arthur P. Hayne, who, after the peace, resided 
in Autauga county, Alabama, and was there much esteemed 
and respected. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, 
on the 12th March, 1790, and descended from a family distin- 
guished in the Revolution. Although not of age when the attack 
was made by the British upon the Chesapeake, he entered Colonel 
Wade Hampton's regiment of light dragoons as a first lieuten- 
ant. In 1809 he was stationed upon the Mississippi with Scott 
and Gaines, who then held the same rank with himself. When 
war was declared against England, Hayne was ordered to the 
North, and he presently participated in the battle of Sackett's 
Harbor, in which he displayed so much gallantry and judgment 
that he was immediately promoted to the command of a squadron 
of cavalry, with the rank of major. He was with Wilkinson in 
1813 on the St. Lawrence. General Hampton, who wanted 
Hayne to join his wing of the army, in one of his letters to the 
Secretary of War, employed this complimentary language : 
" Send me Hayne ; I want his constitutional ardor — it will add 
much to the strength of my army." After Major Hayne had 
been in several severe engagements at the North, he received the 

* Indian Affairs, vol. 1. 



TREATY OF FORT JACKSON, ETC. 601 



important appointment of inspector-general; and being ordered 
to join Jackson in the Creek nation, we find him at the marquee 
of that officer when the treaty was made. Colonel Hayne, during 
the battle ot New Orleans, was constantly in his saddle, execut- 
ing the many hazardous trusts confided to him by Jackson with 
promptness, bravery and ability. In later years, the duties of 
important offices abroad, emanating from the Federal Govern- 
ment, have been confided to him. He is now a resident of 
Charleston. 

In the meantime, General Jackson had been vigilant as to 
the movements of the British and their Indian allies upon the 
coast of the Floridas. He constantly despatched spies to Pensa- 
cola and other points, who returned and confirmed the previous 
reports which had reached him. Provoked at the treachery 
of the Spaniards, he addressed a letter to Manriquez, Gov- 
ernor of Pensacola, remonstrating against the attitude of the 
Spanish authorities towards the United States, a power with 
which Spain professed to be at peace. Manriquez, in his reply, 
denied that the fugitive Red Sticks were then with him, and that 
if they were he could not surrender them, upon the ground of 
hospitality, nor refuse them assistance at a moment when their 
distresses were so great ; and, in admitting that the English had 
and still used the posts of Florida, he justified it on account of a 
treaty which existed between Great Britain and the Indians pre- 
vious to the conquest of the Floridas by Spain. Jackson replied 
in strong terms to this letter, despatching Captain Gordon with 
the document, who was instructed to gain additional information 
of the designs of the enemy. 

Having arranged all things at the fort which bore his name, 
Jackson, in company with Colonel Hayne, departed down the Ala- 
bama, in boats, with a portion of his troops, and arriving at Mo- 
bile, made that place his headquarters. He had been ad- 
monished that it was the design of the English soon to 1814 
attack the city. He addressed a letter to Colonel But- Aug. 11 



602 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



ler, which reached that officer, at Nashville, on the 9th of Sep- 
tember, urging him to hasten the advance of the volunteers 
to protect that point and New Orleans, Soon General Coffee 
was on the march from Tennessee, at the head of two 
thousand men, while Colonel Butler hastened to press for- 
ward the militia under Colonel Lowery, which had been, here- 
tofore, required for garrisoning posts in the Indian country. Cap- 
tains Baker and Butler also commenced the march from Nash- 
ville to Mobile, with the regular forces lately enlisted. 

Colonel Nichol, an Irishman by birth, now a British officer, 
arrived at Pensacola with a small squadron of his majesty's 
ships, immediately manned the Forts Barancas and St. Michael, 
and hoisted the British flag upon their ramparts. Making the 
house of Governor Manriquez his headquarters, Nichol 
1814 sought to draw around his standard the malcontents and 
Aug. 29 traitors of the country, by issuing a proclamation, stat- 
ing that he had come with a force sufficient to relieve 
them from the chains which the Federal Government was en- 
deavoring to rivet upon them. This presumptuous appeal was 
even extended to the patriotic people of Kentucky and Louis- 
iana. At the same time, in conjunction with Captain Woodbine, 
he employed himself in collecting and clothing, in British uni- 
form, the Red Sticks and Seminoles, whom he publicly drilled in 
the streets of Pensacola. To these, and all the Red Sticks, he 
promised a bounty of ten dollars for every scalp, whether of 
men, women or children. 

Fort Bowyer, at Mobile Point, had been dismantled by the 
orders of General Flournoy, who deemed it incapable of defence. 
Jackson, soon after arriving at Mobile, sailed to the Point, and 
after an inspection of this defence, resolved to garrison it. Send- 
ing from Mobile the artillery W'hich was taken from it, and one 
hundred and thirty men, including officers, Major Law- 
1814 rence, the commander, immediately prepared to resist 
Sept. 12 the attacks of the enemy, should he make his appear- 
ance. At length a sentinel, stationed towards Lake 



TREATY OF FORT JACKSON, ETC. 603 

Borgne, discovered six hundred Indians and one hundred and 
thirty British marines. In the evening, two English sloops of 
war, with two brigs, came to anchor on the coast, with- 
in six miles east from the fort. The next day, at twelve Sept. 13 
o'clock, the land force approaching within seven hun- 
dred yards, threw three shells and one cannon ball. The shells 
exploded in the air, but the ball carried away a timber of the 
rampart. The Americans, returning a few shots, forced the as- 
sailants to retire behind the sand hills, a mile and a half distant, 
where they began to raise intrenchments, but a few more dis- 
charges from the fort dispersed them. Some small boats were 
sent out from the ships to sound the channel, but the discharge 
from the battery drove them off. The ships now stood 
out to sea, but about two o'clock they bore down upon Sept. 15 
the fort in order of battle, the Hermes, on board of 
which was Commodore Percy, being in the advance. The Ameri- 
cans opened a fire upon her at four o'clock, but she came to an- 
chor within musket shot — the other three taking their position 
behind her. The engagement became general, the ships dis- 
charging whole broadsides, while the American circular battery 
was destructive in its operations. Captain Woodbine opened a 
battery with a land force, from behind a sand bluff on the south- 
eastern shore, seven hundred yards distant, but the south battery 
of the Americans soon dispersed them. A furious cannonade of 
an hour filled the air with so much smoke, that Major Lawrence 
ceased for a moment, to ascertain the intentions of the English, 
seeing that the halyard of the commodore's flag had been carried 
away. The commodore raised a new flag, and, at that moment, 
all the guns of the American battery were discharged, sensibly 
shaking the earth around. After a short silence, the English 
renewed the action. The cable of the Hermes was cut and she 
was carried away by the current, keeping her head to the fort, 
which enabled Lawrence, for twenty minutes, to rake her, fore 
and aft. 



604 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

In the hottest of the engagement, Lawrence seized a sponge 
staff and hoisted upon the edge of the parapet another 
1814 flag to supply the place of the one which had been car- 
Sept. 15 ried away. The land force, under Woodbine, seeing 
the fall of the flag, rushed in triumph towards the fort ; 
but some discharges of grape again dispersed them. The Hermes 
drifted a half mile, ran aground and was set on fire. The brig 
was so disabled that she could scarce retire to join the other two 
vessels, which now all put to sea. At eleven o'clock at night the 
explosion of the magazine blew up the Hermes.* 

The attack upon Mobile Point was a confirmation of the 
previous conjecture of General Jackson, and he determined to 
throw a force into Pensacola sufficient to expel the enemy, who 
had sailed to that place after their defeat at Fort Bowyer. He 
despatched Colonel Hayne to Fort Montgomery, which was then 
in command of Colonel Thomas H. Benton, under whose super- 
intendence it was erected, for the purpose of organizing the 
troops in that quarter. Colonel Hayne discharged this duty with 
his usual promptness and decision. About this time, General 
Coffee had encamped on the western side of the Tom- 
1814 bigby, opposite the Cut-Off, with two thousand eight 
Oct. 26 hundred men. Jackson reached his camp, and strained 
every nerve to afford supplies for the army, effecting 
loans upon his own credit and responsibility. The army crossed 
the Tombigby, and proceeded across Nannahubba Island to Minis' 
Ferry. One thousand volunteers, hitherto mounted, left their 
horses in the care of keepers, to feed on the cane, and now cheer- 
fully marched on foot. Reaching Fort Montgomery, 
Nov. 4 the army reposed a short time, and again took up the 
line of march for Pensacola. It consisted of the third, 
thirty-ninth and forty-fourth regiments of infantry, the militia 

* Britishloss — 162 killed, 70 wounded; American loss— 4 killed, 4 wounded. Latour's 
War in West Florida and Louisiana, pp. 32-42. Russell's History of the War, p. 279. 
Williams' Florida, p. 200. Eaton's Life of Jackson, pp. 236-237. 



TREATY OF FORT JACKSON, ETC. 605 

of Tennessee, a battalion of volunteer dragoons of the 
Mississippi Territory and some friendly Indians. En- Nov. 6 
camping* within one mile and a half of Pensacola, Jack- 
son sent a detachment of cavalry, under Lieutenant Murray, of 
the Mississippi dragoons, to reconnoitre. They captured a 
Spanish picket-guard, but could perceive nothing. Lieutenant 
Murray was, unfortunately, killed by an Indian, while in a path 
somewhat separated from his command. 

Major Pierre was despatched from headquarters to the gov- 
ernor with a summons, preparatory to an attack upon the town, 
but was fired upon when he had arrived within three hun- 
dred yards of Fort St. Michael, although he held a white flag in 
his hand. Impelled by a feeling of humanity towards the op- 
pressed Spaniards, whose fortifications were held by the English, 
Jackson sent a letter by a prisoner to the Governor, demanding 
an explanation for the insult offered to his flag. Through an 
officer, his excellency disclaimed any participation in the trans- 
action, and gave a pledge that American officers should in future 
be treated with respect. Major Pierre being again sent at mid- 
night, was unsuccessful in his negotiation with the Governor to 
allow Jackson to occupy Forts Barancas and St. Michael, until 
Spanish troops should arrive in sufficient numbers to protect the 
Floridas from British outrages upon the neutrality of the nation. 
Major Pierre then left the Governor, with the assurance that 
recourse would be had to arms. 

Zachariah McGirth, who has been mentioned in reference to 
Fort Mims and the battle of Calebee, was sent by Jack- 
son into Pensacola, to ascertain the number and position 1814 
of the enemy. About midnight he returned, and re- Nov. 6 
ported that a body of Indians, British and Spaniards, 
whom he estimated at over five thousand, occupied the heart of 
the town, and that some distance in advance of them, in the 
direction of the American camp, another party had erected a bat- 
tery across the street. Knowing that this battery commanded 



606 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



the only avenue by which he could reach the enemy, without 
passing under the guns of Fort St. Michael, Jackson determined to 
remove it. He sent for Captain Laval, of the third regiment, and 
informed him that he had selected him as the man to "lead the 
forlorn hope." He ordered him to pick one hundred and twenty 
men, for the purpose of storming the battery. Laval commanded 
a company composing that number, and, although he had the 
option of selecting men from other companies, he first appealed 
to his own men, and stated to them the dangerous duty which 

had been assigned to him. They all responded by say- 

1814 ing, "Wherever you go, Captain Laval, we follow." 

Nov. 7 About eight o'clock in the morning Laval began his 

march. Captain Denkins, who was ordered to support 
him with two pieces of artillery, if it should become necessary, 
marched some distance in the rear. Colonel Hayne, so anxious 
for the success of Laval, who was his warm friend, rode in the 
rear of the company. When Laval came near the battery Den- 
kins and his artillery were far behind, in consequence of the rapid 
march of the former and the heavy sand, which retarded the 
pieces of the latter. The enemy opened their cannon upon the 
" forlorn hope," while numerous assailants annoyed them by cross 
fires from the houses and gardens. The brave Laval, at the head 
of his company, however, marched steadily on. Colonel Hayne 
now dismounted and rushed upon the enemy on foot. Finally 
Laval reached the battery, and at that moment a large grape shot 
tore his leg to pieces, and he instantly fell to the ground. The 
troops rushed over the battery and secured the pieces of the 
enemy, all of whom presently fled, except the commanding offi- 
cer, who bravely maintained his position and was taken a pris- 
oner. 

Captain William Laval, now Major Laval, was born on the 
27th May, 1788, in Charleston, South Carolina. His father, 
who had been an officer in France, came to America with the 
French army, in the legion of the Duke of Lauzun, to assist us 



TREATY OF FORT JACKSON, ETC. 607 

in the struggle for our liberties. He was a cavalry officer, and 
participated in several of the American battles in Virginia, Dela- 
ware and New Jersey, and after peace was declared was, for 
many years, a Sheriff of the Charleston district. The son en- 
tered the American army in October, 1808, as an ensign. He 
was stationed at Forts Moultrie and Johnson, and at a recruiting 
encampment upon the Catawba, In 1812, he was appointed a 
first lieutenant. In January, 1813, he advanced with his com- 
pany, commanded by Captain Moore, from Fort Hawkins across 
the Creek nation to Mobile and from thence to New Orleans. 
Very soon after, when the Creek war broke out, he was promoted 
to the post of captain, and marched with the third regiment, to 
which his company belonged, to Fort Claiborne, and from thence 
to the Holy Ground, in the battle of which he participated. From 
the wound which he received upon the occasion of the siege of 
Pensacola, he was a severe sufferer for two years ; but, although 
it has rendered him a cripple for life, he is now in fine health, 
and moves upon his crutches with ease and animation. Since 
the war, he has held various respectable offices, conferred by a 
people grateful for his military services. He has been a Secre- 
tary of State of South Carolina, its Comptroller-General, a Sheriff 
of Charleston, an officer in the custom-house, Assistant Treasurer 
of the United States under Mr. Polk, and is now the Treasurer 
of the State of South Carolina. Major Laval is near six feet 
high, very erect in person, and presents a very striking and mili- 
tary appearance. 

In the capture of the Spanish battery, seven Amer- 
icans were killed and eleven wounded, among whom, 1814 
besides Laval, was Lieutenant Flournoy. Four Span- Nov. 7 
iards were killed, six wounded and several captured. 

After the storming of this battery, three thousand Ameri- 
cans, in three columns, advanced and proceeded along the beach, 
eastward of the town, to avoid the fire from St. Michael. A flag 
of truce from Governor Manriquez produced a cessation of hos- 



608 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



tilities. The former terms of Jackson were now agreed to ; but 
the commandant of St. Michael refused to obey the governor. 
Jackson now, leaving Major Pierre, with eight hundred men, 
with orders to possess the fort before night, retired to his camp 
with the remainder of his troops, the British attempting to inter- 
cept his march by the fire of long guns from the shipping. 

It was important that the Americans should possess the fort 
before morning, for the British vessels, provided with spring 
cables, were, at any moment, ready to fire the town, or effect 
a landing. Indeed, by the aid of their boats, they had con- 
tinued to fire upon our troops, as they passed along the princi- 
pal streets ; but Lieutenant Call, with a single piece of artillery, 
suddenly appeared upon the beach, and dispersed them. Five 
hundred men were now placed upon the beach, to oppose 
the landing of the British, while Captain Denkins, with two 
companies and three pieces of cannon, occupied Mount St. 
Bernard, which commanded Fort St. Michael. At six o'clock 
p. m., Colonel Sotto, after having sent a verbal message that 
he would surrender, refused to receive Captain Denkins and 
his command, which had been ordered to possess the fort, upon 
the pretence that they could not evacuate before morning. When 

Denkins was about to commence an attack, Sotto, aware 

1814 of the consequences, surrendered, and at eleven o'clock 

Nov. 7 at night the Americans took possession. On the same 

afternoon the battery of St. Rose, opposite Fort Baran- 
cas, was blown up by the Spaniards. 

The next morning the Governor refused to give an order for 
the surrender of Fort Barancas, and Jackson resolved to take it ; 
but, while preparations were making to march down against it, 

it was blown up by order of the commandant. The 
Nov 8. British shipping, by this act, were enabled to pass by 

the ruins of Fort Barancas and put to sea. Had Jack- 
son possessed it in time, they would have been cut off from re- 
treat. 



TREATY OF FORT JACKSON, ETC. 609 

Having effected the expulsion of the British from Pensacola, 
captured one of the forts, while the others were destroyed by the 
enemy themselves, and forced the Red Sticks to retreat to the 
forests in a perishing condition, and, being aware that 
his army could only be supported by tedious land trans- Nov. 9 
portation, that winter was setting in, and that the de- 
fence of New Orleans demanded his services, General Jackson 
took up the line of march for Fort Montgomery, where he ar- 
rived without accident. 

Placing a considerable portion of his army under Major 
Uriah Blue, of the thirty-ninth regiment, the commander-in- 
chief visited Mobile, and then departed for New Orleans. 

Major Blue, at a period between the attack upon Pensacola 
and the battle of New Orleans, scoured the swamps of the Es- 
cambia and all the bays in West Florida with a large force of 
mounted men, consisting of Americans, Choctaws, Chickasaws 
and friendly Creeks. He killed many of the refugee Creeks, who 
fought him in their dense retreats, and captured a large number, 
besides women and children, whom he constantly sent to Fort 
Montgomery, guarded by strong detachments. We regret ex- 
ceedingly that want of space forces us to omit a detailed account 
of this fatiguing and perilous expedition, taken from the lips ol 
an intelligent surgeon. In some other work we hope to be able 
to record the brilliant achievements and valuable services per 
formed on chis occasion by Major Blue. We would remark, how- 
ever, that he was the officer who brought the Creek war of 1813 
and 1814 to a final termination. No official account of this march 
has fallen into our hands, and we believe none exists. 

In drawing our account of the Creek war to a close, we 
cannot refrain from indulging in some reflections upon the 
bravery, endurance, self-sacrifice and patriotism of the Red 
Sticks. Let us, for a moment, recapitulate their achieve- 
ments, never yet rivalled in savage life. They defeated the 
Americans at Burnt Corn, and compelled them to make a pre- 

39 



610 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

cipitate retreat. They reduced Fort Mims, after a fight of 
five hours, and exterminated its numerous inmates. They en- 
countered the large force under Coffee, at Tallasehatche, and 
fought till not one warrior was left, disdaining to beg for quar- 
ter. They opposed Jackson at Talladega, and, although sur- 
rounded by his army, poured out their fire, and fled not until the 
ground was almost covered with their dead. They met Floyd at 
Auttose, and fought him obstinately, and then again rallied and 
attacked him, a few hours after the battle, when he was leading 
his army over Heydon's Hill. Against the well-trained army of 
Claiborne they fought at the Holy Ground, with the fury of 
tigers, and then made good their retreat across the Alabama. At 
Emuckfau, three times did they charge upon Jackson, and when 
he retreated towards the Coosa they sprang upon him, while 
crossing the creek at Enitachopco, with the courage and im- 
petuosity of lions. Two days afterwards, a party under VVeath- 
erford rushed upon the unsuspecting Georgians at Calebee, threw 
the army into dismay and confusion, and stood their ground in a 
severe struggle, until the superior force of Floyd forced them to 
fly, at daylight. Sixty days after this, Jackson surrounded them 
at the Horse-Shoe, and, after a sanguinary contest of three hours, 
nearly exterminated them, while not one of them begged for 
quarter. At length, wounded, starved and beaten, hundreds fled 
to the swamps of Florida ; others went to JPensacola, and, rally- 
ing under Colonel Nichol, attacked Fort Bowyer. Fierce scout- 
ing parties, during the whole war, had operated against them, 
from point to point, and they were not finally overcome until 
Major Blue made the expedition just related. 

Thus were the brave Creeks opposed by the combined 
armies of Georgia," Tennessee and the Mississippi Territory, to- 
gether with the federal forces from other States, besides numer- 
ous bands of bloody Choctaws and Chickasaws. Fresh volun- 
teers and militia, from month to month, were brought against 
them, while no one came to their assistance, save a few English 



TREATY OF FORT JACKSON, ETC. 61 



officers, who led them to undertake enterprises beyond their 
ability to accomplish. And how long did they contend against 
the powerful forces allied against them ? From the 27th of July, 
1813, to the last of December, 1814. In every engagement with 
the Americans, the force of the Creeks was greatly inferior in 
number, except at Burnt Corn and Fort Mims. 

Brave natives of Alabama ! to defend that soil where the 
Great Spirit gave you birth, you sacrificed your peaceful savage 
pursuits ! You fought the invaders until more than half your 
warriors were slain ! The remnant of your warlike race yet live 
in the distant Arkansas. You have been forced to quit one of 
the finest regions upon earth, which is now occupied by Ameri- 
cans. Will they, in some dark hour, when Alabama is invaded, 
defend this soil as bravely and as enduringly as you have done? 
Posterity may be able to reply. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

The British Take Mobile Point — Peace Declared — The 

Alabama Territory. 

The victory of the Americans at New Orleans forced the 

British to abandon the banks of the Mississippi and hover about 

Mobile Point. Twenty-five of their vessels anchored in 

1815 a semi-circular position five miles from Fort Bowyer. 

Jan. 8 Thirteen ships of the line anchored two miles in the rear 

of it. Five thousand men landed and encamped. After 

several days of the most active preparations for the reduction of 

this little American defence, still under the command of the brave 

Major Lawrence, the latter assembled a council of his 

Feb. 12 officers, who decided that it was impossible to contend 

with a powerful force, both by sea and land. The next 

day, according to previous negotiations, three hundred and sixty 

Americans, including officers, marched out of Fort Bowyer, with 

colors flying and drums beating, and took up quarters on board 

of three British ships of the line, as prisoners of war.* 

The treaty of peace between England and the United States y 
concluded at Ghent, did not reach General Jackson at 
1814 New Orleans until the 13th March. A few days after 
Dec. 24 this the latter informed Admiral Cochrane, of the Brit- 
ish navy, of the joyous intelligence. But the latter, 
whose fleet still lay about Mobile Point, did not leave our shores 
immediately, in consequence of the exchange of prisoners con- 
stantly' going on. Besides this, the great mortality from the 

wounds and disease which prevailed throughout his shipping, 

• 

* Latour's Late War in West Florida and Louisiana, pp. 207-216. 

612 



PEACE DECLARED THE ALABAMA TERRITORY. 613 

still further retarded his departure. Hundreds of British sol- 
diers were entombed in the white sands of Mobile Point and 
Dauphin Island. At length, the first of April witnessed the de- 
parture of our enemies and the happiness of our people, now once 
more left to repose. 

At this period a large tract of country was still in possession 
of the Chickasaws, south and west of Madison county, but the 
American population began to form settlements upon it. Hun- 
dreds went lower down, upon the Tombigby, and others 
upon its head waters. Governor Holmes extended, by 1815 
proclamation, the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Terri- June 9 
tory over the country of the Black Warrior and Tom- 
bigby, now acquired from the Chickasaws by treaty, and gave 
the whole the name of Monroe county. 

Madison, north of the Tennessee, at this time less than thir- 
teen miles square, had, within six years, obtained a population 
of more than ten thousand souls, many of whom were wealthy 
and intelligent planters from the Southern Atlantic States. 
Gabriel Moore, Hugh McVay and William Winston were elected 
to the Territorial Legislature from this county in June. 
Fifteen hundred and seventy votes were cast in Madison at the 
election for a delegate to Congress, while the aggregate vote of 
the counties of Jefferson, Claiborne and Adams, was 
only fourteen hundred and twenty. The Washington 1815 
district, upon the Tombigby, sent only two members to June 
the Territorial Legislature. 

The lands acquired by the treaty of Fort Jackson began to 
be only partially settled, as much of them was still in the oc- 
cupancy of the Cieeks, who had not removed, and, owing to the 
intrigues of British emissaries, still in Florida, the boundary 
lines had not been established. Indeed, even before the 16th Oc- 
tober, the Creeks had again commenced hostilities upon the 
frontiers of Georgia, and had broken up the military canton- 
ments on the line from Fort Jackson to Fort Mitchell. 



614 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Dec. 12 Again, settlements were still further retarded by the 
proclamation of the President, forbidding the settle- 
ment of this territory until it was surveyed. 
To facilitate the advance of population north and west of the 
Creek nation, and to prevent encroachments upon the Choctaws, 
Chickasaws and Cherokees, commissioners of the United States 
obtained, by treaties, in the autumn of 1816, all the territory 
from the head waters of the Coosa westward to Cotton Gin 
Port, and to a line running from thence to the mouth of Caney 
Creek, on the Tennessee. After this, the Americans pressed 
forward, and, before the close of 1816, the population of the 
Mississippi Territory was more than seventy-five thousand, in- 
cluding slaves. Forty-six thousand of this population was dis- 
tributed in the counties west of Pearl river, the remainder in 
the Tennessee valley, and upon the Tombigby and the Mobile. 
On the 1st March, Congress declared that the Mississippi 
Territory should be divided, by a line commencing at 
1817 the mouth of Bear Creek, on the Tennessee, thence to 
the northwest corner of Washington county, and thence 
south, with the western limit of that county, to the sea. A con- 
vention, also upon the authority of Congress, composed of forty- 
four delegates, assembled at the town of Washington, near 
Natchez, and adopted the constitution of the State of 
Aug. 15 Mississippi. None of the counties now lying in Ala- 
bama were represented in this convention. On the 10th 
December, the acts of the convention were ratified by Congress, 
and Mississippi became a member of the Federal Union. 

The territory east of the new State of Mississippi, Congress 
erected into a territorial government, giving it the name of Ala- 
bama, from the great river which drained its centre. Upon the 
first organization of this new government, seven counties only — 
Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Madison, Limestone and 
Lauderdale — were formed within our limits, and they enjoyed 
the legislative and judicial powers which they possessed before 



PEACE DECLARED THE ALABAMA TERRITORY. 615 

t 

the division, and the officers retained their places. The seat of 
government was temporarily fixed at St. Stephens. 

William Wyatt Bibb was appointed Governor of the Ala- 
bama Territory. He was born in Amelia county, Virginia, 
October 2, 1781. His father, William Bibb, had held the 
commission of captain in the revolutionary war, and was 
afterwards a respectable member of the legislature of Virginia. 
His mother, whose maiden name was Wyatt, a native of New 
Kent county, of the same State, was a lady of superior intellect, 
and was favorably known to the early settlers of Alabama. The 
family removed to Georgia at an^ early period, and settled in 
Elbert county, upon the Savannah. Captain Bibb died in 1796, 
leaving to his wife the care and responsibility of eight children, 
all of whom she lived to see in affluent and respectable positions 
in life. William, the subject of this notice, graduated at the 
College of William and Mary, returned to Georgia and established 
himself as a physician in the town of Petersburg. Shortly after- 
wards, he was elected to the legislature, where, for several 
sessions, he evinced considerable talents and usefulness. When 
scarcely twenty -five years of age, he took a seat in Congress, at 
the commencement of the session of 1806, where he was an active 
and efficient member. From the Senate of the United States to 
which he afterwards succeeded, he was transferred by President 
Monroe to the government of Alabama. 

The first Territorial Legislature convened at St. Stephens 
the 19th January, 1818. James Titus was the only member of 
the Executive Council or Senate. He sat alone, and decided upon 
the acts of the lower house, and adjourned and met again with a 
show of formality quite ludicrous. Gabriel Moore, of Madison 
county, was the speaker of the house, which was composed of 
about thirteen members. Governor Bibb, on the 20th, presented 
his message, in which he recommended the advancement of edu- 
cation, the establishment of roads, bridges and ferries, the altera- 
tion in the boundaries of counties, and the formation of new ones, 



616 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



and many otber things, calculated to promote the welfare of the 

Territory. He brought to the serious attention of the assembly 

the petition from the Mississippi convention, recently addressed 

to Congress, praying that body to enlarge the limits of 

1818 Mississippi, by restricting those of the Alabama Terri- 

Jan. tory to the Tombigby river. He opposed the project, 

and contended that the present line of partition had been 

deliberately fixed by the competent authorities and voluntarily 

accepted by the people of that State. 

Thomas Easton was elected Territorial printer. George 
Philips, Joseph Howard, Mathew Wilson, Joseph P. Kennedy, 
John Gayle and Reuben Saffold were selected as nominees, from 
whose number the President of the United States should select 
three members for the next legislative council. 

The counties of Cotaco, Lawrence, Franklin, Limestone, 
Lauderdale, Blount, Tuscaloosa, Marengo, Shelby, Cahawba, 
Dallas, Marion and Conecuh were established. In each, the 
superior courts of law and equity, and two county courts, and 
one intermediate court, were to be holden annually. They were 
allowed one representative each in the legislature. 

The boundaries of Washington, Baldwin, Mobile and Ma- 
rengo were altered and extended. Madison, the shape of which 
was formerly that of a triangle, was now made to assume its 
present form. The St. Stephens Academy was incorporated, and 
its trustees authorized to raise four thousand dollars by a lottery. 
" The St. Stephens Steamboat Company " was also incorporated. 
Hudson Powell, Robert Gaston, Joseph H. Howard, Howell Rose 
and George Dabney were appointed commissioners to select a 
temporary place at which to hold the courts of Montgomery 
county, then of vast extent. 

The legislature repealed the laws upon usury, and allowed 

any interest agreed upon between the parties, and ex- 

1818 pressed in writing, to be legal. The compensation of 

Feb. the members was fixed by themselves, upon a more 



PEACE DECLARED THE ALABAMA TERRITORY. 617 

liberal scale than at present. The speaker and president were 
allowed seven and the members five dollars per diem, besides 
mileage. 

Clement C. Clay, Samuel Taylor, Samuel Dale, James Titus 
and William L. Adams w T ere elected commissioners to report to 
the next session the most central and eligible site for the Terri- 
torial legislature. 

Madison, Limestone, Lauderdale, Franklin, Lawrence and 
Catoco counties were erected into the "northern judicial district." 
Governor Bibb, on the 14th February, appointed Henry Minor 
attorney-general of this district. 

Clarke, Washington, Monroe, Conecuh, Baldwin and Mobile 
counties composed the "southern judicial district," and Mathew 
D. Wilson was appointed the attorney-general thereof. 

Marion, Blount, Shelby, Montgomery, Cahawba, Marengo, 
Dallas and Tuscaloosa counties, composed the "middle judicial 
district," and Joseph Noble was appointed its attorney-general. 

Before the division of the Mississippi Territory, and while 
the legislature sat at Washington, in Adams county, a stock 
bank had been established at Huntsville. A resolution adopted 
at the session of St. Stephens changed its name to that of "Plant- 
ers' and Merchants' Bank of Huntsville." The Tombigby stock 
bank was also now established, with a capital of five hundred 
thousand dollars. Such were the only important acts of the first 
session of the legislature of the Alabama Territory* 

But Indian disturbances, as we have said, had commenced. 
Although the British army had sailed for Europe, yet there were 
still subjects of that nation in the Floridas, who originated the 
" Seminole war " ; among the most active of whom were Captain 
Woodbine, Colonel Nichol. Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert C. 
Ambrister. They had adopted the opinion of Lord ('astlereagh, 
that the 9th article of the treaty of Ghent entitled the Creeks to a 
restoration of the lands which they had been compelled to relin- 

* State Archives. 



618 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



quish at Fort Jackson. Woodbine, entering upon the task of en- 
forcing this ill-founded claim, had conducted to Florida a colony 
of negro slaves, which had been stolen by the British during the 
war from the Southern planters. He had ascended the Apalachi- 
cola, and had erected a strong fort, which was well supplied with 
artillery and stores. From this point he had presumptu- 

1815 ously addressed Hawkins a letter, demanding the restora- 
Apr. 28 tion of the ceded lands, and representing himself as 

commanding his majesty's forces in Florida. Hostili- 
ties had already commenced upon the frontiers, and even the 
Big Warrior had declared that he had been deceived as 
to the extent of the lands which had been forced from him. Col- 
onel Clinch, of Georgia, with detachments under Major Muhlen- 

burg and Captain Zachary Taylor, had invested and 

1816 completely destroyed Woodbine's negro fort, killing 
Aug. 26 many of the inmates and burning a vast amount of mil- 
itary property. Notwithstanding these difficulties, 

emigrants continued boldly to push through the Creek nation, 
and to occupy portions of the Alabama Territory. A small 
colony had established themselves in the present Butler county. 
Among them was Captain William Butler, a native of Virginia, 
who had been a member of the Georgia Legislature, and the com- 
mander of a company of volunteers at the battle of Calebee; 
Captain James Saffold, a lawyer, who had commanded a company 
of artillery, under Major Mcintosh, while stationed at Fort De- 
catur, besides William P. Gardner, Daniel Shaw, James D. K. 
Garrett, Britain M. Pearman, and others, all of whom 
1818 came recently from Georgia. Most of these worthy 
March settlers pitched their camps upon the ridge near the res- 
idence of the late Chancellor Crenshaw. Two years 
previous to this, however, a few emigrants had settled on the 
Federal Road, near where Fort Dale was afterwards erected, in 
the present county of Butler, among whom were William Ogle, 
his wife and five children, with J. Dickerson. Another settle- 



PEACE DECLARED THE ALABAMA TERRITORY. 619 

ment had been formed in the " Flat," on the western border of 
that county. 

Sam McNac, who still lived near the Pinchoma, on the Fed- 
eral Road, informed these emigrants that hostile Indians were 
prowling in that region, who meditated mischief. A temporary 

block-house was immediately erected at Gary's, and those 

in the " Flat " began the construction of a fort, afterwards called 
Fort Bibb, enclosing the house of Captain Saffold, who had re- 
moved from the ridge to that place. On the 6th March, William 
Ogle drove his ox-cart in the direction of Fort Claiborne for pro- 
visions, and he had not proceeded far before a Chief, named 
Uchee Tom, and seventeen warriors, seized the rope with which 
he was driving, and gave other evidences of violence, but finally 
suffered him to proceed. Feeling much solicitude on account 
of his family, and purchasing corn at Sepulga Creek, he returned 
home, where the Indiaus had been in the meantime, and 
had manifested a turbulent disposition. On the 13th of 1818 
March Ogle attended a company muster, and from March 
thence there went home with him in the evening an old 
acquaintance, named Eli Stroud, with his wife and child. Meeting 
in a savage land, under sad apprehensions, these friends, having 
put their children to sleep, sat by the fireside of the cabin and con- 
tinued to converse in undertones, ever and anon casting their eyes 
through the cracks to discover if Indians were approaching. Pres- 
sently, by the dim light of the moon, Ogle saw a band of Ped 
Sticks, who stealthily but rapidly approached the house. Spring- 
ing from his seat he seized his gun, ran to the door, and set on his 
fierce dogs ; but he was soon shot dead, falling upon the threshold 
which he was attempting to defend. Stroud and his wife sprang 
over his body into the yard, leaving their infant sleeping upon the 
hearth and ran off, pursued by a part of the savages. Paralyzed with 
fear, Mrs. Ogle at first stood in the floor, but recovering herself, 
ran around the corner of the house, and, protected by a large dog, 
escaped to a reed brake hard by, where she concealed herself. 



620 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Here she heard the screams of Mrs. Stroud, who appeared to be 
running towards her, but who was soon overtaken and toma- 
hawked. The savages entered the house, dashed out the brains 
of the infant, which was sleeping upon the hearth, and butchered 
the other children, whose shrieks and dying groans the unhappy 
mother heard, from the place of her concealment. After robbing 
the house, the wretches decamped, being unable to find Stroud, 
who lay not far off, in the high grass. The next morning some 
of the emigrants assembled, to survey the horrid scene. During 
the night, Mrs. Stroud had scuffled to the cabin, and was found in 
the chimney corner, sitting beside the body of her child, bereft 
of her senses. Ogle and four children lay in the sleep of death. 
His two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary Ann, were still alive, and 
were taken, with Mrs. Stroud, to the houses of the kind settlers, 
and, in a short time were sent to Fort Claiborne, with an escort 
furnished by Colonel Dale. On the way, Mrs. Stroud died, and, 
not long after reaching Claiborne, Mary Ann also expired. Eliza- 
beth, through the kind attentions of Dr. John Watkins, survived 
her wounds, and is yet a resident of Butler county. 

One week after this massacre, Captain William Butler and 

James Saffold, in company with William P. Gardner, 

1818 Daniel Shaw and young Hinson, set out from the fort, 

Mar. 20 to meet Dale, who was then marching to that point with 

a party of volunteers, a portion of whom they desired 
to induce him to send to the Flat, to protect the citizens, while 
cultivating their fields. Advancing about two miles, Savannah 
Jack and his warriors — the same who had murdered the Ogles — 
fired upon them from a ravine. Gardner and Shaw, riddled with 
rifle balls, fell dead from their horses. Butler and Hinson, both 
beiug wounded, were thrown to the ground. The latter, regain- 
ing his seat in the saddle, fled back to the .fort. Unable to reach 
his horse, Butler attempted, by running across the ravine, to gain 
the road in advance of the Indians ; but he was pursued and shot 
at, from tree to tree, until he fell dead, but not before he had 



PEACE DECLARED THE ALABAMA TERRITORY. 621 

killed one of his pursuers. Captain Saffold escaped to 

the fort, receiving no injury, except the perforation of 1818 

his clothes by rifle balls. A detachment, sent by Dale Mar. 21 

the next day, buried the dead, whose heads were beaten 

to pieces, and their bodies horribly mutilated.* 

Not long after this affair, an emigrant, named Stokes, with 
his wife and children, was killed, fifteen miles below Claiborne. 
Great alarm pervaded the whole country, and the people moved 
upon the hills and began the construction of defences. 

In the meantime, Governor Bibb, who had made several trips 
from Coosawda to St. Stephens, and who was well apprised 
of these depredations, resorted to prompt measures to afford pro- 
tection to the settlers. By his directions, Colonel Dale had 
marched to the scene of the late murders. Bibb sent a despatch 
to the Big Warrior demanding the withdrawal of all the Indians 
from the lands ceded at Fort Jackson, acquainting him with the 
murders committed upon unoffending white people, and request- 
ing that the authors be pursued and punished by such warriors 
as he might think proper to send out. 

Dale advanced to Poplar Spring, erected a fort, which as- 
sumed his name, and assisted the people to finish Fort Bibb. 
Both of these forts were now garrisoned. Major Youngs, of the 
eighth infantry, stationed at Fort Crawford, despatched a detach- 
ment of whites and Choctaws, with orders to scour the Conecuh, 
and afterwards to join Dale. The latter also scoured the sur- 
rounding country, but overtook none of the Indians. Governor 
Bibb successfuly co-operated with the United States officers sta- 
tioned at Montgomery Hill and Fort Crawford for the protection 
of the citizens, and he visited in person all the newly erected 
stockades. On the 25th May he returned to Coosawda, 
and the next day rode up to Tookabatcha and had a 1818 
friendly interview with the Big Warrior. Leaving the May 
Secretary of State, Henry Hitchcock, a young New Eng- 

* In relation to the murders in Butler county, I must return my thanks to John K. 



622 HISTOKY OF ALABAMA. 

lander, of great ability, in charge of the government, his excel- 
lency returned to Georgia upon urgent business. 

The Red Sticks, in the meanwhile, had collected in a consid- 
erable band, and the country over which Dale had the command 
becoming too hot to hold them, they crossed the Alabama and 
marched through Marengo and Greene. In McGowan's settlement 
three children, named Hall, and a negro woman, were murdered on 
Sept. 14. Suspicion falling upon Savannah Jack and his party 
they were pursued and trailed to Gun Island, or Gun 
1818 Shute, on the Warrior, by Colonel Thomas Hunter, at 
Sept. 15 the head of some settlers. Night coming on, the pur- 
suit ceased. The next day a party under Major Tay- 
lor, and another under Captain Bacon, crossed the Warrior to 
the western side, and, in a dense swamp, came upon the savages. 
An action of an hour ensued. The officers, acting with bravery 
and prudence, were sustained by only a few of their men. A re- 
treat was at length made, with the loss of two men killed and one 
severely wounded. The next day Colonel Hunter, with fifty men, 
followed upon the trail of the enemy, and came upon a small party, 
one of whom was killed. The next morning he continued the 
pursuit for twenty miles, to the Sipsey Swamp, where, from the 
impracticability of entering it, the enemy was left to repose.* 
This expedition was followed up by several others upon 
Oct. the Warrior ; but the Creeks had at length determined to 
leave the Americans in quiet possession of the lands, which 
were surrendered with such reluctance at the treaty of Fort Jack- 
son. The flood-gates of Virginia, the two Carolinas, Tennessee, Ken- 
tucky and Georgia were now hoisted, and mighty streams of 
emigration poured through them, spreading over the whole terri- 
tory of Alabama. The axe resounded from side to side, and from 
corner to corner. The stately and magnificent forests fell. Log 
cabins sprang, as if by magic, into sight. Never before or since, 
has a country been so rapidly peopled. 

Henry, Esq., of Greenville, who took the pains to procure correct statements of tnem 
from J. Dickerson and James D. K. Garrett. The late Reuben Hill, of Wetumpka, also 
furnished notes upon this subject. 
*■ Report of Colonel Hunter to Governor Bibb, to be found among the State Archives. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

Modern French Colony in Alabama, or the Vine and 

Olive Company. 

A colony of French sought Alabama as an asylum from 
Bourbon persecution. The winter of 1816 and 1817 found many 
of these distinguished refugees in Philadelphia. An ordinance 
of Louis XV11I had forced them from France on account of their 
attachment to Napoleon, who was then an exile upon St. Helena. 

The refugees despatched Nicholas S. Parmentier to the 
Federal city to obtain from Congress a tract of land in the wild 
domain of the West, upon which they had resolved to establish 
a colony. On the 4th March, 1817, Congress authorized the sale 
of four townships to them, at two dollars per acre on a credit of 
fourteen years, upon condition that they cultivated the vine and 
olive. In the meantime, the refugees had entered into a corre- 
spondence with intelligent persons of the West, in regard to the 
soil and climate of different regions. Dr. Brown, of Kentucky, 
who had traveled in France, and had become much interested in 
these unhappy people, advised them to settle near the confluence 
of the Warrior and Tombigby, which they determined to do. 
Organizing in Philadelphia, the company was found to consist of 
three hundred and forty allottees, and the land was divided 
among them ; some acquiring a full share of four hundred and 
eighty acres, and others half and quarter shares, and some not 
more than eighty acres. To each man was also assigned a lot in 
the town which they were to establish, and also one 
in the suburbs. Associated with them as assistants 1818 
were Prosper Baltard, A. Mocquart and J. le Francois. April 

623 



624 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

George N. Stewart, then a youth of eighteen, and now a dis- 
tinguished lawyer of Mobile, was their secretary. 

The schooner McDonough was chartered, and the commis- 
sioners, with many French emigrants, set sail from Philadelphia. 
Late one evening, in the month of May, this vessel, bearing these 
romantic voyagers, was seen approaching Mobile Point, in the 
midst of a heavy gale. Governed by an obsolete chart, the cap- 
tain was fast guiding her into danger. Lieutenant Beal, com- 
manding at Fort Bowyer, perceiving her perilous situation, fired 
an alarm gun. Night coming on, and overshadowing both sea 
and land with darkness, he caused lights to be raised along the 
shore as guides to the distressed vessel. Th3 wind continuing 
to increase, she was thrown among the breakers and immediately 
struck. Signals of distress being made, the noble lieutenant 
threw himself into a boat, with five resolute men, and with Cap- 
tain Bourke, formerly an officer. Mounting wave after wave, they 
reached the wreck about one o'clock in the morning. The wind 
had somewhat abated, and Beal crowded the women and children 
into his boat and conducted them safely to shore. The larger 
number of the colonists remained on board the schooner, which 
was ultimately saved by being washed into deeper water. Bestow- 
ing upon the refugees every attention while they remained at 
the Point, Beal accompanied them to Mobile and partook of a 
public dinner, which they gave him in token of their gratitude. 

The commissioners remained a few days at Mobile, which 
was then a small place, with but one wharf, and proceeded up the 
river in a large barge, furnished by Addin Lewis, the collector of 
the port. Stopping at Fort Stoddard, they were received with 
hospitality by Judge Toulmin, to whom they bore letters. They 
next visited General Gaines, then in command of a large force at 
Fort Montgomery, and the barge then cut across to the 
Tombigby and landed at St. Stephens — a place of some 1818 
size, with refined and lively inhabitants. Discharging June 
the government boat and procuring another barge, the 



MODERN FRENCH COLONY IN ALABAMA. 625 

refugees once more began their voyage up the winding and rapid 
current. Camping upon the banks occasionally, and ex- 
ploring the country around, they at length established July 
themselves temporarily at the White Blurt'. A portion 
of them proceeded to old Fort "Tombecbe," and near there 
visited Mr. George S. Gaines, who was still United Stales 
Choctaw factor, whose table fed the hungry, and whose roof 
sheltered the distressed. He advised them to make their 
location in the neighborhood of the White Bluff. John A. 
Peniers and Basil Meslier, whom the association had des- 
patched to explore the Red river country now arrived. Re- 
ceiving favorable reports of the country in the Alabama Terri- 
tory, the association at Philadelphia took measures to colonize it. 
The west side of the Tombigby belonged to the Choctaws, and 
the east had recently been in possession of the Creeks. The 
region where the French emigrants had resolved to establish 
themselves was an immense forest of trees and canes, inter- 
spersed with prairie; and near the present town of Greensboro 
was Russell's settlement of Tennesseans, and some distance be- 
low the White Bluff were a few inhabitants. However, the 
French continued to arrive in boats by way of Mobile, and cabins 
were erected about the White Bluff in a rude and scattering 
manner. Having been accustomed to Parisian life, these people 
were very indifferent pioneers. Unprovided with wagons and 
teams, and unacquainted with the shifts to which pioneer people 
are often compelled to resort, they made but slow progress in 
subduing the wilds. Provisions of all kinds were remarkably 
high. They, however, slowly struggled against these difficulties, 
and endeavored to raise provisions upon small patches, without 
knowing upon what tract in the grant they were to live in 
future. 

The meridian line was established, and the grant divided 
into townships and sections. A town was formed at the White 
Bluff, which, according to the request of Count Real, of Philadel- 

— 40 



626 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



phia, was call Demopolis — the city of the people.* To secure the 
river front, two fractional townships were chosen by the com- 
missioners, instead of two entire townships. Emigrants continu- 
ing to arrive, great confusion and controversy arose in the 
selection of lots and tracts of land, while the association at Phil- 
adelphia, unacquainted with the localities, were unwisely and 
arbitrarily planning their own forms of location. By a new con- 
tract, made between Mr. Crawford, Secretary of the 
1819 Treasury, and Charles Villar, agent of the association, 
Dec. the lands were sold and the tracts of each person desig- 
nated. The allotments made at Philadelphia, and rati- 
fied by Mr. Crawford, being different from those already made by 
the settlers, forced the latter to abandon many of their hard- 
earned improvements, and to retire further into the forest. This 
wretched state of things caused General Lefebvre Desnoettes, 
who had opened a farm on his Tombigby allotment, to proceed to 
Philadelphia to adjust these conflicting interests. He succeeded 
only in securing his own improvements, while the claims of the 
others were disregarded, and the contract made at Washington 
was ordered to be enforced. The settlers were then forced to re- 
tire upon the lands assigned them in township eighteen, range 
three east, and township eighteen, nineteen and twenty, in range 
four east. 

Among the French emigrants were many distinguished char- 
acters. Count Lefebvre Desnoettes had been a cavalry officer, 
under Bonaparte, with the rank of lieutenant-general. Accom- 
panying Napoleon in his march to Russia, he rode with him 
in his carriage in his disastrous retreat over the snows of 
that country. He had served in Spain in many bloody 
engagements, and was an active participator in the dreadful bat- 
tle of Saragossa. Vivacious and active, handsome in person and 
graceful in carriage, he was the most splendid rider of the age in 

* Afterwards it proved that Demopolis was not embraced in the townships of the 
French grant. An American company purchased it of the United States, at fifty-two 
dollars per acre. 



MODERN FRENCH COLONY IN ALABAMA. 627 

which he lived. His imperial master was so much attached to 
him, that when forced to abdicate the throne, and about to de- 
part for Elba, and while addressing his weeping and sorrowing 
officers at Fontainbleau, said: "I cannot take leave of you all, 
but will embrace General Desnoettes in behalf of you all." He 
then pressed him to his bosom in the most affectionate manner. 
Napoleon frequently made him valuable presents, and influenced 
his cousin, the sister of the celebrated banker, La Fitte, to 
espouse him. While he was at Demopolis, that lady made an at- 
tempt to join him in exile, but being shipwrecked on the coast of 
England, was forced to return to France. At length, she nego- 
tiated with the French government for his return, and, through 
the influence of her family, succeeded in obtaining permission 
for him to reside in Belgium. This induced Count Desnoettes, 
in 1823, to leave Alabama in the ship Albion, which was wrecked 
upon the coast of Ireland, at Old Kinsale, in view of an immense 
number of people, who were standing on the cliffs. The distin- 
guished refugee was washed overboard, and the ocean became his 
grave. While in Marengo county, he often received large sums 
of money from France, and was the wealthiest of the emigrants. 
Near his main dwelling he had a log cabin, which he called his 
sanctuary, in the centre of which stood a bronze statue of Na- 
poleon. Around its feet were swords and pistols, which Des- 
noettes had taken in battle, together with beautiful flags, taste- 
fully hung around the walls. 

M. Peniers, another distinguished emigrant, was a republi- 
can member of the National Assembly, and voted for the death 
of the amiable Louis XVI. He remained about Demopolis, en- 
gaged in agriculture, but procuring an appointment of Sub- 
Agent for the Seminoles, died in Florida, in 1823. Distin- 
guished in France, and honored with many civil appointments, 
he was at last expatriated for his adherence to the fortunes of 
Napoleon. 

Colonel Nicholas Rooul, a remarkable personage, had been a 



628 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



colonel under Bonaparte, and had accompanied him in his ban- 
ishment to Elba. When his imperial master left that island, 
Rooul commanded his advanced guard of two hundred grenadiers 
upon the march from Caenes to Paris. When this small band 
was preparing to fire upon the king's troops, under Marshal 
Ney, who had come to capture the emperor, Bonaparte advanced 
to the front of the lines, and gave the command to ''order arms." 
Baring his breast to Ney's division, he exclaimed, " If I have ever 
injured a French soldier, fire upon me." The troops of Ney 
shouted " Vive la Empereur!" and Bonaparte marched at their 
head, through the gates of Paris. Colonel Rooul lived several years 
upon his grant, and, becoming much reduced in circumstances, 
was forced to keep a ferry at French Creek, three miles from 
Demopolis — being accustomed to ferry over passengers himself. 
Often would the American traveler gaze upon his foreign 
countenance, martial air and splendid form, and wonder what 
order of man it was who conducted him over the swollen stream. 
At this time Rooul, being in the prime of life, was a large, fine- 
looking man. He was firm and irascible in his disposition, and 
was a dangerous competitor in any controversy in which he 
might engage. His wife was a handsome woman, of the Italian 
style of beauty. She was a native of Naples, and had been Mar- 
chioness of Sinabaldi, and maid of honor to Queen Caroline, when 
Murat was king of that country. She brought with her to Ala- 
bama two children by a former husband. In 1824, she left her 
lonely cabin upon French Creek and followed Colonel Rooul to 
Mexico, where he engaged in the revolution, and fought with his 
accustomed fierceness and impetuosity. At length, once more 
reaching his beloved France, he there for a long time held an 
honorable commission in the French army. 

J. J. Cluis, one of the refugees, cultivated a farm near 
Greensboro. He had been an aide to Marshal Lefebvre, the 
Duke of Rivigo, who was afterwards at the head of the police de- 
partment of Paris. Colonel Cluis was then his secretary. At 



MODERN FRENCH COLONY IN ALABAMA. 629 

another time Cluis had the custody of Ferdinand VII., King of 
Span, while he was imprisoned by Napoleon near the Spanish 
frontiers. Like all the other refugees, he found planting the vine 
and olive a poor business in Alabama, and, having become much 
reduced in fortune, kept a tavern in Greensboro. He died in Mo- 
bile not many years since. 

Simon Chaudron, one of the Tombigby settlers, formerly a 
resident of Philadelphia, where his house was a centre of ele- 
gance and wit, was distinguished for his literary attainments. 
He had been the editor of the " Abeille Americaine," and was a 
poet of considerable reputation. He delivered a eulogy upon the 
life and character of Washington before the Grand Lodge of Phil- 
adelphia, which was pronounced a splendid effort, both in Europe 
and in America. He died in Mobile in 1846 at a very advanced 
age, leaving behind him interesting works, which were published 
in France. 

General Count Bertand Clausel had been an officer of merit 
throughout Bonaparte's campaigns. During the Hundred Days 
he commanded at Bordeaux, and making the Duchess of Anglou- 
lerae prisoner, released her, for some unknown cause. The gen- 
eral did not occupy his grant, but became a citizen of Mobile in" 
1821, living on the bay, furnishing the market with vegetables, 
and driving the cart himself. Returning to France in 1825. he 
was subsequently made, by Louis Philippe, governor and mar- 
shal of Algeria. 

Henry L'Allemand, who had been a lieutenant-general, com- 
manding the artillery of the imperial guard, was an officer of 
great merit and a man of high character. He married the niece 
of Stephen Gerard. General Charles L'Allemand, his brother, 
had also been an officer of distinction in France. Filled with 
daring and ambitious projects, he employed the following lan- 
guage in writing to his brother: "I have more ambition than 
can be gratified by the colony upon the Tombigby." This was 
literally true, for he soon made a hazardous expedition to Texas, 



630 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

collecting followers at Philadelphia and in Alabama. Arriving 
at Galveston Island, which was shortly afterwards submerged, 
his people suffered greatly for provisions, and were generously 
relieved by the pirate, La Fitte. Annoyed by the Indians, and 
prostrated by disease, in a short time most of the colonists per- 
ished, and the establishment failed. 

The celebrated Marshal Grouchy was one of the Philadel- 
phia associates. He was a man of middle stature, and had very 
little, apparently, of the military about him. Not being popular 
with the refugees, in consequence of his conduct at Waterloo, to 
which they imputed the loss of that day, he became involved in 
controversies with them in the American gazettes. He never 
came to Alabama, but one of his sons, who had been a captain in 
the French army, settled his grant nearDemopolis. The marshal 
afterwards returned to France and enjoyed honors under the 
Bourbons. 

M. Lackanal, a savant, and member of the academy at the 
head of the department of public education under the emperor, 
settled on the bay, near Mobile, in 1819. He was one of those 
members of the National Assembly of France who voted for the 
death of Louis XVI. After a long residence in Mobile, he went 
to France and there died in 1843. 

Among all the refugees who sought homes in Alabama, none 
had passed through more stirring and brilliant scenes than Gen- 
eral Juan Rico, a native of Valencia, in Spain, who had been 
proscribed in that country, upon the return of Ferdinand VII, 
because he was a republican, and a supporter of the constitution 
of 1812. An eloquent member of the Cortes and a distinguished 
officer of the Spanish army, he resisted to the last the invasion 
of Napoleon. One day, an interesting scene occurred between 
General Rico and the elegant Desnoettes. Both being invited to 
dine at Demopolis, the conversation turned upon the campaigns 
in Spain, when allusion was made to the obstinate and sanguinary 
siege of Saragossa, where one of them had commanded the troops 



MODERN FRENCH COLONY IN ALABAMA. 631 

of France and the other those of Spain. They were now assem- 
bled at a hospitable table in an humble cottage in the wilds of 
Alabama. They had met before, amid the din of arms, arraying 
their troops against each other, and pouring out rivers of blood, 
at the head of the best trained troops of Europe, who had figured 
in the most eventful times of France and Spain. Each had been 
expelled from his native country, and each had been blasted in 
his ambitious hopes. Nevertheless, good humor prevailed in the 
cabin, and the sorrows of all were drowned in wine, amid merry 
peals of laughter.. In 1825, General Rico was re-called to Spain, 
and, arriving there, again became a member of the Cortes, under 
his favorite constitution. He met with singular reverses of 
fortune, was expelled from Spain the second time, became an 
inhabitant of England, and was again re-called to assist in the 
government of his country. When he lived in Alabama, he was 
fifty years of age, and was of a dark complexion. He possessed 
great energy and decision of character, and was a most excellent 
farmer. If our limits would permit it, many other interesting 
persons among the French emigrants might be described. 

The principal portion of the French grant lay in Marengo 
county. This name was proposed by Judge Lipscomb, while a 
member of the legislature at St. Stephens, in honor of the great 
battle fought during the French republic. It also extended into 
the county of Greene, embracing some of the best lands in the 
vicinity of Greensboro. It has been seen that much difficulty arose 
among the French about their respective locations, and that three 
times they lost their improvements. Forced to abandon their 
settlements in Demopolis, they laid off the town of Agleville, and 
erected cabins, but the drawing at Philadelphia not embracing 
this place, they were once more forced to go deeper in the 
forest. The want of wagons and teams, and the great scarcity of 
water in the cane brake, induced them to dwell on small allot- 
ments, while their more valuable tracts were unoccupied. Owning 
no slaves, a number of German redemptioners were imported, 



632 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



through the enterprise of Desnoettes, but these people proved a 
burden and expense, and also disregarded their obligations. The 
French were less calculated, than any other people upon earth, 
to bring a forest into cultivation. The provisions wnich they 
raised were made at the expense of extravagant hire, and Des- 
noettes expended over twenty -five thousand dollars in opening 
and cultivating his farm. In this manner the whole colony, after 
a few years, became poor, and many were forced to sell their 
claims to Americans, who soon opened large plantations, and 
made the earth smile with abundant products. However, a ma- 
jority of the French still held on to their grants, and, in good 
faith to the government, entered upon the cultivation of the grape 
and olive. Importations of plants were often made from Bor- 
deaux, but the newness of the land and the ignorance of the 
colony in regard to their cultivation, were among the reasons 
why the experiment failed. The importations frequently arrived 
out of season, when the vines withered away and the olive seeds 
became defective. At length, with difficulty, grapes were grown, 
but they failed to produce even a tolerable wine, because the fruit 
ripened in the heat of summer. Before the vinous fermentation 
was completed the acetic had commenced. In 1821 the French 
planted three hundred and eighty-three olive trees upon the 
grant, and a large number in 1824. Every winter the frosts 
killed them down to the ground, but new shoots putting up were 
again killed by the succeeding winter. The usual mode of plant- 
ing the grape was at the distance of ten feet in one direction, and 
twenty in the other. They were trained to stakes and cultivated 
with cotton. 

In addition to the ruinous failure of the vine and olive, the 
French were continually annoyed by unprincipled American 
squatters. Occupying their lands, without a shadow of title, they 
insultingly told the French that they intended to maintain their 
footing at all hazards. Several law suits arose, and although our 
Supreme Court decided in favor of the grantees, yet the latter 



MODERN FRENCH COLONY IN ALABAMA. 633 

became worn out with controversies, and allowed the intruders 
in many cases to retain possession for a small remuneration. On 
the other hand, many honorable Americans purchased their 
grants for fair considerations, and thus the French refugees were 
gradually rooted from the soil. 

But, in the midst of all their trials and vicissitudes, the 
French refugees were happy. Immured in the depths of the Tom- 
bigby forest, where for several years want pressed them on all 
sides— cut off from their friends in France — surrounded by the 
Choctaws on one side, and the unprincipled squatters and land- 
thieves on the other — assailed by the venom of insects and 
prostrating fevers — nevertheless, their native gaiety prevailed. 
Being in the habit of much social intercourse, their evenings 
were spent in conversation, music and dancing. The larger por- 
tion were well educated, while all had seen much of the world, 
and such materials were ample to afford an elevated society. 
Sometimes their distant friends sent them rich wines and other 
luxuries, and upon such occasions parties were given and the 
foreign delicacies brought back many interesting associations. 
Well cultivated gardens, and the abundance of wild game, ren- 
dered the common living of the French quite respectable. The 
female circle was highly interesting. They had brought with 
them their books, guitars, silks, parasols and ribbons, and the 
village, in which most of them dwelt, resembled, at night, a 
miniature French town. And then, farther in the forest, others 
lived, the imprints of whose beautiful Parisian shoes on the wild 
prairie, occasionally arrested the glance of a solitary traveler. 
And then, again, when the old imperial heroes talked of their 
emperor, their hearts warmed with sympathy, their eyes kindled 
with enthusiasm, and tears stole down their furrowed cheeks.* 

* Conversations with George N. Stewart, Esq., of Mobile, who was the secretary of 
the French Vine Company ; also conversations with Mr. Amand Pfister, of Montgomery, 
whose father was one of the French grantees. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

Last Territorial Legislature — State Convention. 

The second session of the Legislature of the Territory of 
Alabama convened at St. Stephens, in the fall of 1818. John 
W. Walker was Speaker of the House, and James Titus Presi- 
dent of the Legislative Council. Among other acts, two new 
counties were formed — St. Clair, with the courts to be 
held at the house of Alexander Brown, and Autauga, 1818 
with the courts to be held at Jackson's Mills, on Au- Fall 
tauga Creek. The territory of the latter county was 
formerly attached to that of Montgomery. These new counties 
were added to the Middle Judicial District. 

The Bank of Mobile, with a charter extending to 1st Jan- 
uary, 1839, and with a capital stock of five hundred thousand 
dollars, was established. The banks at St. Stephens and Hunts- 
ville were empowered to increase their capital stock, by selling 
shares at auction. The profits, to the extent of ten per cent., 
were to be divided among the stockholders, and, if there proved 
to be an excess, it was to be applied to the support of Green 
Academy, in Madison county, and the academy at St. Stephens. 

Governor Bibb was constituted sole commissioner to lay off 
the seat of government at the confluence of the Cahawba and 
Alabama. He was required to have the town surveyed, expose 
maps of the same at public places, and give ninety days' notice 
of sale, out of the proceeds of which he was to contract for the 
building of a temporary capitol. About the last of November the 
legislature adjourned, having determined to hold the next session 
at Huntsville.* 

* State Archives. 

634 



STATE CONVENTION. 635 



The Territory of Alabama increased in population 
to such an extent that Congress authorized the people 1819 
to form a State constitution. Mar. 2 

The following persons were elected members of the 
convention : 

From the County of Madison — Clement C. Clay, John 
Leigh Townes, Henry Chambers, Samuel Mead, Henry Minor, 
Gabriel Moore, John W. Walker and John M. Taylor. 

Monroe — John Murphy, John Watkins, James Pickens and 
Thomas Wiggins. 

Blount — Isaac Brown, John Brown and Gabriel Hanby. 

Limestone — Thomas Bibb, Beverly Hughes and Nicholas 
Davis. 

Shelby — George Philips and Thomas A. Rodgers. 

Montgomery — John D. Bibb and James W. Armstrong. 

Washington— Israel Pickens and Henry Hitchcock. 

Tuscaloosa — Marmaduke Williams and John L. Tindal. 

Lawrence — Arthur F. Hopkins and Daniel Wright. 

Franklin — Richard Ellis and William Metcalf. 

Cotaco — Melkijah Vaughan and Thomas D. Crabb. 

Clarke — Reuben Saffold and James McGoffin. 

Cahawba — Littlepage Sims. 

Conecuh — Samuel Cook. 

Dallas — William R. King. 

Marengo — Washington Thompson. 

Marion — John D. Terrell. 

Lauderdale — Hugh McVay. 

St. Clair — David Conner. 

Autauga — James Jackson. 

Baldwin — Harry Toulmin. 

Mobile — S. H. Garrow. 

These members convened at Huntsville on the 5th July, 1819. 
John W. Walker was chosen to preside over the convention, and 
John Campbell was elected its secretary. 



636 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Being about to introduce biographical notices of some of 
these members,* we begin with the following well-written sketch, 
prepared by a college companion and intimate friend of the dis- 
tinguished person of whom he writes.! 

'' John W. Walker was born in Virginia, and, while yet a 
child, accompanied his father, the Reverend Jeremiah Walker, 
who emigrated to Elbert county, Georgia. His preceptor in the 
rudiments of education was the Reverend Moses Waddel, long 
accustomed, with an honest pride, to enumerate among his pupils 
many of the most celebrated jurists and statesmen of the South. 
He graduated with distinguished honor at Princeton, preserving 
during his collegiate course an untarnished moral character, and 
acquiring, along with the reputation of an excellent scholar, a 
high relish for polite literature, which he ever afterwards re- 
tained. On leaving college he applied himself to the study of 
the law, and although more than once interrupted by illness, his 
quick and keen perception of the right and just, and the extent 
and variety of his previous attainments, speedily insured him 
clear and comprehensive views of a science not always enjoyed 
by more laborious, but less sagacious, students. Seeking the 
temple as a worshipper in spirit and in truth, who regarded 
jurisprudence not as a craft or mystery, but the noblest of 
sciences, he thus insured his future superiority over practitioners 
who treat their profession as an art and its principles as a mere 
collection of rules and codes. 

''In 1810 Mr. Walker, then a resident of Petersburg, Geor- 
gia, married Matilda, the daughter of LeRoy Pope, Esq., of the 
same village, and removed with his father-in-law and several of 
his neighbors to Alabama, then a territory, where they became 
the first settlers of Madison county, and founded the now flour- 

* I regret to have occasion to observe that my application to the friends of many of 
the members of this convention, for information in relation to their birth, early life 
and political career, has not been responded to, and hence I have been unable to embody 
in this work any notice of them. 

t From the pen of Richard Henry Wilde, formerly of Georgia, but afterwards of New 
Orleans, and now deceased. 



STATE CONVENTION. 637 



ishing town of Huntsville. Here he began the practice of his 
profession, soon rose to eminence, and was repeatedly chosen a 
member of the Territorial legislature. In 1819 he declined the 
office of district judge, tendered him by President Monroe, and 
in the same year was chosen to preside over the convention 
which formed the constitution of the State, an instrument in- 
debted to him for many of its best provisions. 

" Immediately after its adoption and the admission of Ala- 
bama into the Union, he was elected a United States Senator, an 
office which he held until 1823, when ill-health compelled him to 
retire ; and on the 23d of April of that year he passed away from 
life, leaving behind him the memory of no fault and the enmity 
of no human being. 

" In person Mr. Walker was tall, his figure slender but well 
formed, and his manners and address mild, graceful and prepos- 
sessing. He had blue eyes, brown hair, a fine complexion, hand- 
some features, and a countenance whose expression, habitually 
pensive, kindled into animation with every lofty thought and gen- 
erous feeling. Even to a stranger his appearance was highly 
engaging and attractive, while those who enjoyed his familiar 
conversation were charmed with the sweet, low tones of his collo- 
quial eloquence, the intellectual music of a pure heart, a sound 
mind, a rich memory and brilliant imagination. Surrounded by 
friends who loved and honored, or in the bosom of a family who 
idolized him, how often hours vanished unconsciously in conversa- 
tion, grave and gay, in the inexhaustible topics of art, science, lit- 
erature, government and morals, to all of which his perfect urban- 
ity, extensive reading, the refinement of his taste, and the delicacy 
of his feelings, gave interest and novelty. His letters, many of 
which have been preserved by the writer with reverential care, 
are models of the familiar epistolary style, correct and sparkling, 
yet free, cordial and unstudied — true to the feeling of the moment, 
and passing from the whimsical and excursive playfulness of 



638 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



Sterne to the pathos of McKenzie, with all the graceful negli- 
gence of Byron, or slip-shod gossip of Walpole. 

" Before the higher aims or heavier burdens of life came upon 
him, he was, like most other men of genius, a rhymer, and the 
few specimens of his verse, which had currency in the circles of 
his love and friendship, were prized, not unreasonably, as jewels 
by their possessors. 

"Mr. Walker's literary attainments, far from impairing, in- 
creased his efficiency as a jurist and orator. Many, it is true, 
believe that belles-lettres scholarship is usually an impedient to 
forensic eloquence; but the examples of Mansfield and Black- 
stone, Story and Legaro, stamp this as a vulgar error. The 
prejudices of ignorance and envy may, indeed, retard the success 
of the more thorough-bred and highly educated; but, in this case, 
as in every other, where industry and good sense are not want- 
ing, all learning is useful, as well as ornamental, and ultimately 
tends to form the character of a perfect advocate. As might 
naturally be expected, therefore, Mr. Walker's contemporaries at 
the bar speak of his professional skill and knowledge with the 
highest praise, and assigned to him the palm for persuasive elo- 
quence, readiness of resource and gentlemanly bearing. 

"In the Senate, he was mainly instrumental in producing 
the passage of the first law for the relief of purchasers of the 
public lands, emphatically a bill of peace, which, while it saved 
the new State of Alabama from bankruptcy, preserved their affec- 
tions to the Union, and led to the abolition of the credit system, 
thus preventing future evils. . 

" To this new theatre of usefulness and honor, Mr. Walker 
brought all the modest worth and unalloyed patriotism of 
Lowndes, with much of the easy and graceful manner of Forsyth, 
and, to his career as a statesman, only a longer life was wanting. 
But time, as it has been beautifully observed, is the indispensable 
ally of genius in its struggle for immortality, and, though death 
may have shut the gate on other aspirants as highly gifted, 



STATE CONVENTION. f)39 



it has never closed on one more fondly loved or more deeply 
mourned." 

Arthur Frances Hopkins was born near Danville, in the 
State of Virginia. He was a descendent of Arthur Hopkins, an 
Englishman, and a physician of very high standing, who settled 
in the early part of the eighteenth century in the colony of Vir- 
ginia. His grandmother was a Miss Jefferson, a relative of the 
President of that name. His father, James Hopkins, was in the 
severe battle of Guilford Court House, a volunteer soldier of the 
United States at the age of fifteen, and died at his residence in 
Pittsylvania county, Virginia, in 1844. 

In the pursuit of an education, Arthur Frances Hopkins 
studied in an academy at New London, in Virginia, in an- 
other at Caswell Court House, North Carolina, and at the Uni- 
versity at Chapel Hill. He received his law education in the 
office of the Honorable William Leigh, of Halifax county, Vir- 
ginia, who was a distinguished jurist, and the brother of the 
celebrated Benjamin Watkins Leigh. In December, 1816, Mr. 
Hopkins, at the age of twenty-two, settled in the town of Hunts- 
ville, Alabama. Owning a plantation near Huntsville, and the 
price of cotton then being very high, and the practive of law in* 
the valley of the Tennessee river worth but little, he relinquished 
his business at the bar in the spring of 1818. In January, 1819, 
he moved to the county of Lawrence, was elected a member of 
the convention in May of that year, and took his seat in that 
body, as we have seen. The people of Lawrence elected him to 
the State Senate in August, 1822. He immediately ranked with 
the most talented and influential men, and endeavored, with all 
his ability and ingenuity, to dissuade the Legislature from enact- 
ing a measure which, it is believed by many, has inflicted much 
evil. We allude to the establishment of the State Bank. His 
speeches upon that occasion were powerful efforts against the 
system of connecting bank and State, and the evils which he pre- 
dicted have been, as many believe, most sensibly realized. His 



640 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



views were overruled by the Legislature, only thirteen of the 
entire body, among whom were the Honorable Joshua L. Martin, 
afterwards Governor of Alabama, James Jackson, of Lauderdale, 
and Nicholas Davis, of Limestone, concurring with him. The 
opposition of Mr. Hopkins to the State Bank, which was called 
the People's Bank, diminished materially his popularity, which 
was shortly afterwards impaired still more by his opposition to 
the election of General Jackson to the office of President of the 
United States. He preferred Henry Clay to all other men, and 
supported him whenever he was a candidate for the Presidency. 
He voted for Judge White in 1836, and for General Harrison in 
1840, again for Henry Clay, and lastly for General Taylor; but, 
as he emphatically said to us one day, « never for General Jack- 
son." 

In March, 1825, Mr. Hopkins returned to Huntsville, and 
applied himself successfully to the profession of the law, without 
any interruption, until the summer of 1833, when he was 
returned a member of the Legislature from Madison county. The 
most exciting measure before the Legislature was the " Creek 
Controversy," then waging between the national administration 
and Governor John Gayle. Although personally friendly to the 
Governor and opposed to General Jackson, the conviction of his 
judgment led Mr. Hopkins to take the side of the administration, 
and in support of his views he delivered in the house a speech of 
power and research, which was published and widely distributed, 
giving him great reputation as a constitutional lawyer and 
statesman. Since the close of the session of 1833 and 1834, he 
has not been a representative of the people of this State. In 
January, 1836, he was elected by the Legislature one of the 
Judges of the Supreme Court without opposition, and at the 
solicitation of both political parties ; and in 1837 he was appointed 
by his associates on the bench Chief Justice of Alabama. 
In December, 1836, the whig members of the Legislature did 
him the honor to vote for him, as a Senator in Congress, against 



STATE CONVENTION. 641 



the Honorable John McKinley. They conferred upon him the 
same unsolicited honor in January, 1844, when Mr. Lewis was 
elected a Senator of the United States. In June, 1837, Judge 
Hopkins resigned his seat upon the bench, returned to Hunts- 
ville, engaged in the practice of the law, and was soon tendered 
by Mr. Van Buren the office of commissioner, with others, under 
a late treaty with the Cherokees, which he declined. During the 
Presidential canvass of 1840, Judge Hopkins was one of the whig 
electors, and addressed many public meetings in North Alabama. 
At the Baltimare whig convention in May, 1844, he presided as 
chairman, until the convention was fully organized, and during 
that summer, he often addressed the people of Alabama, to in- 
duce them to vote for Mr. Clay, for the Presidency. Judge Hop- 
kins appears to have always been a great favorite with the whig 
party, for they ran him upon a two day's ballot, when William 
R. King and Dixon H. Lewis were candidates for the United 
States Senate, during the first session of the legislature held at 
Montgomery, and again, in the winter of 1849 and 1850, he was 
balloted for against Colonel King, to fill the vacancy which oc- 
curred in the Senate, and, when the latter succeeded over him,, 
the whig party immediately ran him for the other vacancy in the 
Senate, against our excellent and much-admired friend, Governor 
Fitzpatrick. But the whigs, being in a minority, have never 
been able to place him in the United States Senate. 

Judge Hopkins lives in Mobile, where he is regarded as a 
lawyer of ability, and as a gentleman of honor, benevolence and re- 
finement. In person, he is compactly made, and rather large. 
He has an agreeable countenance, and is pleasant and affable in 
his manners. 

William Rufus King is a native of North Carolina. He 
was born on the 7th April, 1786. His father, William King, was 
a planter, in independent circumstances, whose ancestors came 
from the north of Ireland, and were among the early settlers on 
James river, in the colony of Virginia. He was highly esteemed 

— 41 



642 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



for his many virtues, and was elected a member of the State con- 
vention which adopted the Federal constitution. The mother of 
Mr. King was descended from a Huguenot family, which had 
been driven from France by the revocation of the edict of 
Nantz. 

William Ruf us King received his education at the University 
of North Carolina, to which he was sent at the early age of twelve 
years. On leaving that institution, where his attention to his 
studies, and uniformly correct and gentlemanly deportment, had 
commanded the respect and regard of his fellows, and the appro- 
bation of the professors, he entered the law office of William 
Duffy, a distinguished lawyer, reeling in the town ot" Fayette- 
ville, North Carolina, and in the^utumn of 1805, obtained a 
license to practice in the superior courts of the State. In 1806, 
he was elected a member of the legislature of the State, from the 
county of Sampson, in which he was born. He was again 
elected, the year following, but on the meeting of the legisla- 
ture, he was chosen solicitor by that body, and resigned his seat. 
Colonel King continued in the practice of his profession until he 
was elected a member of Congress from the Wilmington district, 
which took place in August, 1810, when he was but little more 
than twenty-four years of age ; but, as his predecessor's term did 
not expire before the 4th March, 1811, Colonel King did not take 
his seat in the Congress of the United States until the autumn 
of that year, being the first session of the twelfth Congress. This 
was a most important period in the history of the country. The 
governments of England and France had for years rivalled each 
other in acts destructive of the neutral rights and ruinous to the 
commerce of the United States. Every effort had been made, 
but in vain, to procure an abandonment of orders in councils on 
the one hand and decrees on the other, which had nearly cut up 
the commerce of the country by the roots, and a large majority 
of the people felt that to submit longer to such gross violations of 
their rights as a neutral nation would be degrading, and they 



STATE CONVENTION. 643 



called upon their government to protect those rights, even at the 
hazard of a war. In this state of things, Colonel King took his 
seat in the House of Representatives, and unhesitatingly ranged 
himself on the side of the bold and patriotic spirits in that body, 
who had determined to repel aggression, come from what quarter 
it might, and to maintain the rights and the honor of the country. 
The withdrawal of the Berlin and Milan decrees by France, 
while England refused to abandon her orders in council, put an 
end to all hesitation as to which of those powers should be met 
in deadly strife. In June, 1812, war was declared against Eng- 
land, Mr. King advocating and voting for the declaration. He 
continued to represent his o strict in Congress during the con- 
tinuance of the war, sustain' ,g, with all his power, every measure 
deemed necessary to enable the government to prosecute it to a 
successful termination ; and not until the rights of the country 
were vindicated and secured, and peace restored to the land, did 
he feel at liberty to relinquish the highly responsible position in 
which his confiding constituents had placed him. In the spring 
of 1816 Colonel King resigned his seat in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and accompanied William Pinckney, of Maryland, as 
Secretary of Legation, first to Naples and then to St. Petersburg* 
to which Courts Mr. Pinckney had been appointed Minister Pleni- 
potentiary. Colonel King remained abroad not quite two years, 
having, in that time, visited the greater portion of Europe, 
making himself acquainted with the institutions of the various 
governments and the condition of their people. On his return to 
che United States, he determined to move to the Territory of 
Alabama, which determination he carried into effect in the winter 
of 1818-19, and fixed his residence in the county of Dallas, where 
he still resides. A few months after Colonel King arrived in the 
Territory, Congress having authorized the people to form a con- 
stitution and establish a State government, he was elected a 
member of the convention. Colonel King was an active, talented 
and influential member of that body, was placed on the commit- 



644 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

tee appointed to draft a constitution, and was also selected by the 
general committee, together with Judge Taylor, now of the State 
of Mississippi, and Judge Henry Hitchcock, now no more, to re- 
duce it to form, in accordance with the principles and provisions 
previously agreed on. This duty they performed in a manner 
satisfactory to the committee. The constitution thus prepared 
was submitted to the convention and adopted, with but slight 
alterations. 

On the adjournment of the convention Colonel King returned 
to his former residence in North Carolina, where most of his 
property still was, and, having made his arrangements for its re- 
moval, set out on his return to Alabama. On reaching Milledge- 
ville, in the State of Georgia, he received a letter from Governor 
Bibb, of Alabama, informing him that he had been elected a Sen- 
ator in the Congress of the United States, and that the certificate 
of his election had been transmitted to the city of Washington. 
This was the first intimation that Colonel King had that his 
name even had been presented to the Legislature for that high 
position, and, injuriously as it would affect his private inter- 
ests in the then condition of his affairs, he did not hesitate 
to accept the honor so unexpectedly conferred upon him ; and, 
leaving his people to pursue their way to Alabama, he retraced 
his steps, and reached the city of Washington a few days before 
the meeting of Congress. His colleague, the Honorable John W. 
Walker, had arrived before him. 

Alabama was admitted as a State, and her Senators, after 
taking the oath to support the constitution of the United States, 
were required to draw for their term of service, when Major 
Walker drew six years and Colonel King four. At the time that 
Alabama became a State of the Union, the indebtedness of her 
citizens for lands, sold by the United States under what was 
known as the credit system, was nearly twelve millions of dol- 
lars. It was perfectly apparent that this enormous sum could 
not be paid, and that an attempt to enforce the payment could 



STATE CONVENTION. 645 



only result in ruin to her people. Congress became satisfied that 
the mode heretofore adopted for the disposal of the public domain 
was wrong, and a law was passed reducing the minimum price 
from two to one dollar and twenty-five cents the acre, with cash 
payments. This change was warmly advocated by our Senators, 
Walker and King. 

At the next session a law was passed authorizing the pur- 
chasers of public lands, under the credit system, to relinquish to 
the government a portion of their purchase, and to transfer the 
amount paid on the part relinquished so as to make complete pay- 
ment on the part retained. At a subsequent session another law 
was passed, authorizing the original purchasers of the lands so 
relinquished to enter them at a fixed rate, much below the price 
at which they had been originally sold. To the exertions of Sen- 
ators King and Walker, Alabama is mainly indebted for the pas- 
sage of these laws, which freed her citizens from the heavy debt 
which threatened to overwhelm them with ruin, and also enabled 
them to secure their possessions upon reasonable terms. 

Colonel King was elected a Senator in 1823, in 1828, in 
1834, and in 1840. His firm but conciliatory course insured 
for him the respect and confidence of the Senate, and he was 
repeatedly chosen to preside over that body as president pro 
tem, the duties of which position he discharged in a manner so 
satisfactory, that, at the close of each session, a resolution was 
adopted, without a dissenting voice, tendering him the thanks of 
the body for tl.e ability and impartiality with which he had dis- 
charged those duties. In the spring of 1844, Colonel King was 
offered the situation of Minister to France, which he declined, as 
he had, on previous occasions, refused to accept other diplomatic 
situations, wnich had been tendered to him, preferring, as he de- 
clared, to be a Senator from Alabama to any office which could 
be conferred on him by the General Government. At this time, 
the proposition for the annexation of Texas was pending, and 
f1 i was but too much reason to believe that the British gov- 






646 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



eminent was urging that of France to unite with her in a pro- 
test against such annexation. It was, therefore, of the highest 
importance to prevent, if possible, such joint protest, as, should 
it be made, must have inevitably resulted in producing hostilities 
with one or both of these powers ; for no one, for a moment, be- 
lieved that the government of the United States would be de- 
terred from carrying out a measure which she considered essen- 
tial to her interests, from any apprehension of consequences 
which might result from any combination of the powers of 
Europe, Colonel King was a decided advocate of the annexation 
of Texas, and when urged by the President and many of his 
friends in Congress to accept the mission, he consented, under 
these circumstances, to give up his seat in the Senate. Colonel 
King, feeling the importance of prompt action, did not even re- 
turn to his home to arrange his private affairs, but repaired at 
once to New York, and took passage to Havre. Arriving in Paris 
he obtained an audience of the King, presented his credentials, 
and at once entered upon the object of his mission. After fre- 
quent conferences with the King of the French, who had kindly 
consented that he might discuss the subject with him, without 
going through the usual routine of communicating through the 
foreign office, Colonel King succeeded in convincing his majesty 
that the contemplated protest, while it would not arrest the pro- 
posed annexation, would engender on the minds of the American 
people a feeling of hostility towards France, whic'i would operate 
most injuriously to the interests of both countries, now united 
by the closest bonds of friendship; and his majesty ultimately 
declared that " he would do nothing hostile to the United States, 
or which could give to her just cause of offence." The desired 
object was accomplished. England was not in a condition to act 
alone, and all idea of a protest was abandoned. Colonel King re- 
mained in France until the autumn of 1846, dispensing a liberal 
hospitality to his countrymen and others, and receiving I -om 
those connected with the government, and a large ci T- ° ere *i 






STATE CONVENTION. 647 



most distinguished individuals in Paris, the kindest attention. 
He returned to the United States in November, 1846, having re- 
quested and obtained the permission of the President to resign 
his office. 

In 1848, the Hon. Arthur P. Bagby was appointed Minister 
Plenipotentiary to Russia, and resigned his seat in the Senate of 
the United States. Colonel King was appointed, by the Governor 
of Alabama, to fill the vacancy thus created, and in 1849, 
the term for which he was appointed having expired, he was 
elected by the legislature for a full term of six years. In 1850, 
on the death of General Taylor, the President of the United States, 
Mr. Filmore, the Vice-President, succeeded to that high office, 
and Colonel King was chosen, by the unanimous vote of the 
Senate, President of that body, which places him in the second 
highest office in the government. Colonel King has ever been a 
decided republican of the Jeffersonian school. He has during his 
whole political life opposed the exercise of implied powers on the 
part of the General Government, unless palpably and plainly 
necessary to carry into effect an expressly granted power-, firmly 
impressed with the belief, as he has often declared, that the 
security and harmony, if not the very existence of the Federal 
Government, was involved in adhering to a strict construction of 
the constitution. 

In all the relations of life, Colonel King has maintained a 
spotless reputation; his frank and confiding disposition, his uni- 
form courtesy and kindness, has endeared him to numerous 
friends, and commanded for him the respect and confidence of all 
who have had the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

Colonel King is about six feet high, remarkably erect in 
figure, and is well proportioned. Brave and chivalrous in his 
character, his whole bearing impresses even strangers with the 
conviction that they are in the presence of a finished gentleman. 
His fine colloquial powers, and the varied and extensive informa- 
tion which he possesses, render him a most interesting companion, 



t)48 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

Clement Comer Clay was born in Halifax county, Virginia, 
on the 17th December, 1789. His father, William Clay, son of 
James Clay, and his mother, Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Comer, 
were Virginians by birth, and of English descent. His father, 
William Clay, entered the revolutionary army as a private soldier 
at the early age of sixteen, and made several tours. He was in 
various engagements, and was present at the siege of York town 
and the surrender of Cornwallis. At an early age, his father 
removed west of the Alleghanies to Grainger county, East Ten- 
nessee. 

Clement Comer Clay completed his education at the East Ten- 
nessee University at Knoxville. Leaving college, he read law with 
the Honorable Hugh Lawson White, and obtained a license in 
December, 1809. He remained in East Tennessee until 1811, when 
he removed to Huntsville, where he has resided ever since. With 
a determined self-reliance, he pursued the practice of his profes- 
sion steadily, and with gradually increasing profit, until the spring 
of 1817, taking no other interest in political matters than such 
as might be expected in any intelligent private citizen. When 
hostilities were commenced by the Creeks in 1813, he performed 
military duty as adjutant of a battalion of volunteers, called 
into service from Madison county ; but he had volunteered 
as a private soldier in one of the companies of that battalion. 
This battalion never joined the army of General Jackson in 
the Creek nation, but, under his orders, was kept on the frontier, 
south of Tennessee river, to watch the enemy, and repel any 
advance which might be made. In the spring of J 817 the friends 
of Mr. Clay announced him as a candidate for the Territorial 
council, and he was elected by more than two hundred votes 
above the next highest candidate who was returned. He went 
to St. Stephens, and discharged his duties during the two ses- 
sions held at that place in a manner creditable to himself and 
useful to his constituents and the Territory. His absence, how- 
ever, seriously interrupted a lucrative practice at the bar, and 



STATE CONVENTION. 649 



deprived him of the favorable opportunity of purchasing a valu- 
able tract of land near Huntsville as a permanent home. When 
the convention was organized at Huntsville, Mr. Clay appeared 
as one of the delegates from the county of Madison. An active 
and assiduous member to its close, he was appointed chairman of 
the committee of fifteen to prepare and report a plan of govern- 
ment, and in that capacity brought forward a paper containing 
the main features of the constitution as it was originally adopted. 
When the convention terminated he resolved to devote himself 
exclusively to the practice of his profession and to planting; but 
in December, 1819, before he had completed his thirtieth year, he 
was elected, without opposition, one of the judges of the circuit 
court. When the judges assembled at Cahawba, in May, 1820, 
although he was several years younger than any other one on 
the bench, he was elected by his associates the first chief justice 
of the State of Alabama. As judge he served more than four 
years, when he resigned, in December, 1823, to resume the prac- 
tice of his profession. 

On his return to the bar Judge Clay re-entered upon the 
practice of his profession with his accustomed assiduity, energy 
and talents, and immediately obtained a highly lucrative busi- 
ness. But in 1828 he was elected to the legislature by the 
people of Madison, to advance their interests in the grant of four 
hundred thousand acres of land made by Congress for the im- 
provement of the navigation of the Tennessee river. On his 
arrival at Tuscaloosa, then the seat of government, he was 
elected Speaker of the House of Representatives without opposi- 
tion. He performed the high and responsible duties of that post 
during the unusually long and exciting session of 1828-9 in a 
manner very satisfactory to the house. He participated in the 
debates upon the most important questions, and earned a rep- 
utation as an able legislator. Upon his return to Huntsville 
his friends placed him in nomination for Congress. Captain 
Nicholas Davis, who had been a member of the Senate, and its 



650 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



president, was his opponent. The canvass was a most exciting 
one. Each candidate had numerous active and influential 
friends. The district then consisted of the counties of Madison, 
Jackson, Limestone, Lauderdale and Lawrence. In Jackson and 
the eastern part of Madison the public lands had never been 
offered for sale, and the great question was whether the right of 
pre-emption should be given to the pioneers. The government 
of the United States had sold all the lands in the other counties 
of the district in 1818-19-20 under the credit system, which 
then prevailed, at such enormous prices as, under the change 
brought about by the reduced price of cotton, rendered many 
unable, and nearly all the original purchasers, unwilling, to 
pay for them. Consequently, nearly all the lands in those coun- 
ties had been relinquished and forfeited, including, in many in- 
stances, the dwelling-houses, gin-houses and other improvements, 
and the question was whether adequate relief should be obtained 
for the former purchasers, and those holding under them. Judge 
Clay and Captain Davis were both advocates of pre-emption 
rights to the settlers on public lands, and relief to the unfortu- 
nate purchasers, who had relinquished or forfeited. Judge Clay, 
the successful candidate, took his seat in Congress in December, 
1829, and devoted his best energies to the accomplishment of 
those great measures. He succeeded to his entire satisfaction, 
and the journals of Congress show the labor and talent which he 
employed in aiding in the passage of the "relief laws." On his 
his return home, he was everywhere greeted with expressions of 
praise and gratitude. 

The tariff was one of the exciting questions then agitating 
the national councils. Judge. Clay took the ground he has ever 
occupied, in favor of a revenue tariff and ad valorem duties, and 
delivered in Congress a creditable speech upon that subject. 
In another speech, he sustained General Jackson's policy and 
measures in opposition to the Bank of the United States and the 
removal of the deposits. He agreed with the administration, in 



STATE CONVENTION. 651 



the main, in regard to the tariff, and disapproved of the course 
taken by South Carolina to nullify the tariff laws, yet he could not 
be induced to vote for the "force bill," as it was familiarly called. 
His regard for the sovereignty and rights of the States was such 
that he would not consent to give the Federal Executive addi- 
tional power against any member of the confederacy, however 
much he condemned her action. Judge Clay's course in Congress 
was such that he never incurred opposition to his several re-elec- 
tions, and in 1835 he was nominated as the democratic candidate 
for governor. At that time Judge White was placed in nomina- 
tion by his friends as a candidate for the presidency, in opposi- 
tion to Van Buren. Although Judge Clay's personal preferences 
were in favor of the claims of the former, and he would have 
preferred him as the nominee, he would not consent to divide the 
democratic party, to which he belonged, and, therefore, he gave 
his support to Van Buren. This brought out opposition to him, 
in the person of General Enoch Parsons, but Judge Clay was 
elected Governor in August, 1835, by the largest majority ever 
given any candidate for that office in the State, being upwards of 
thirteen thousand votes. He was inaugurated as governor in 
November. 1835. 

Governor Clay has been charged with inactivity and neglect 
of duty during the Creek wai, in the spring of 1836. If we were 
writing a history of those times, we could vindicate him in a 
most successful manner, for we were then attached to the execu- 
tive staff, and well remember what transpired. We cannot, how- 
ever, refrain from remarking, that no man ever labored more as- 
siduously to bring into the field a force sufficient to subdue the 
hostile Indians, and no one ever evinced more willingness to af- 
ford relief to his fellow citizens in the Creek nation, or felt for 
them more anxiety. As soon as he learned, at Tuscaloosa, the 
alarming condition of the settlers in the Creek nation, he ad- 
dressed an order to Major General Benjamin Patteson, directing 
him to bring down a force from North Alabama, to hasten to the 



652 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



seat of war, and to assume the immediate command of all the 
Alabama troops intended to be employed against the hostiles. 
At the same time, he addressed a letter to the commandant of 
the United States arsenal at Mount Vernon, making a requisi- 
tion upon him for arms, munitions and tent equipage, directing 
them to be shipped forthwith to Montgomery. At the same time, 
he also issued an order to Brigadier-General Moore, of the Mobile 
division, ordering him to sen! troops to Eufaula, upon the Chat- 
tahoochie. He then took a seat in the stage-coach, arrived at 
Montgomery, and temporarily established his headquarters at 
that place. It was during a period when provisions of all kinds 
were scarce and exorbitantly high, — when the whole country 
had run mad with speculations — and when even the elements 
were in commotion — tornadoes prostrating trees across the high- 
ways, and heavy rains swelling every stream and sweeping off 
every bridge. Yet, in spite of these things, he assembled a large 
force from North Alabama, from West Alabama, and from South 
Alabama. He caused a great quantity of arms, tent equipage 
and ammunition to be brought up the river from the arsenal at 
Mount Vernon. He made the most judicious arrangements with 
highly responsible contractors, who sent forward from New Or- 
leans and Mobile an abundance of subsistence for the army. To 
meet some pressing necessities, he sold his own bill of exchange 
to the Bank of Montgomery for the sum of twenty-five thousand 
dollars. He exerted himself, in gaining over to our side many 
of the prominent Chiefs. Opothleoholo and eleven principal 
Chiefs cams down to Montgomery by his invitation, to whom he 
made an ingenious appeal in the ball-room of the Montgomery 
Hall in the presence of Colonel James E. Belser, Colonel John A. 
Campbell, Colonel George W. Gayle and the author — who were 
his aids — and General Patteson, with his staff, among whom 
were Major J. J. Donegan, Major Withers, and others, who, at 
this moment, are not recollected. Opothleoholo responded in a 



STATE CONVENTION. 653 



" talk " of an hour's length. He concluded, by tendering to 
Governor Clay his services and those of his people. 

In short, an army of near three thousand men was organized, 
who reached the Creek nation by the time that General Jessup, 
who had been sent by the Federal Government to assume the 
command, arrived there. 

In June, 1837, Governor Clay was elected to the United 
States Senate, without opposition, and shortly afterwards re- 
signed the gubernatorial office. He took his seat in the Senate 
in September, 1837, (an extra sebsion) and served the four suc- 
ceeding regular sessions, and the extra session of 1841. The 
journals of the Senate contain evidences of his talent and indus- 
try. In consequence of the ill-health of his family, he resigned 
his seat in the Senate. 

Governor Clay is of medium size. He is erect in figure, 
and walks with elasticity, presenting but few of the marks of 
age. His eyes are of a dark brown color, expressive and pene- 
trating, and are ever in motion. Nothing escapes his observa- 
tion ; and while conversing with you, even upon a topic highly 
interesting to him, it is his custom frequently to cast his eyes 
upon some one who has entered the room, or who is passing the 
streets, and then upon you. He tells an anecdote well, and is an 
agreeable companion. He is a brave man, and is exceedingly 
punctual and honorable in all the relations of life. 

Nicholas Davis, a member of the convention from the county 
of Limestone, will next be noticed. He was born on the 23d of 
April, 1781, in Hanover county, Virginia, in a region of country 
familiarly called the "Slashes," where, also, the great orator of 
Kentucky first saw the light. He descended from the Davis and 
Ragland families, whose names are preserved in the archives of 
Virginia, as among the earliest settlers of Yorktown. He was 
educated in the same county, and partly in the same school, with 
Henry Clay. 

Captain Davis never studied any profession, but has been all 



654 HISTOKY OF ALABAMA. 



his life a farmer. He removed to Alabama in March, 1817, and 
established himself at " Walnut Grove," in the county of Lime- 
stone, where he has resided ever since. After the termination of 
the convention, he was elected a member of the first legislature 
of Alabama, which sat at Huutsville in the fall of 1819. In 1820 
he was again a member, at Cahawba, where the legislature was 
permanently established. The people of Limestone placed him 
in the Senate in 1821, and when he arrived at Cahawba, in the 
beginning of the winter, he was selected to preside over that 
body. His impartiality, honesty, firmness, talents and efficiency 
caused him to be continued in the office of President of the Sen- 
ate for the period of ten years. 

In the preceding memoir, we have alluded to the Congres- 
sional canvass in which Captain Davis was engaged in the sum- 
mer of 1829. It was exceedingly spirited. Governor Clay found 
him to be a truly honorable and liberal competitor, but a very 
formidable one. Everywhere Captain Davis met him upon the 
stump, and exhibited decided evidences of a first-rate popular 
speaker. At that period, Captain Davis was a man in the prime 
of life, of commanding person, vigorous constitution, and an 
honest and generous heart. Possessing a handsome and expres- 
sive countenance, beaming with intelligence, and a clear and dis- 
tinct voice, he might have been pointed out as one of the noblest 
specimens of an intelligent yeomanry. He was defeated for Con- 
gress, as we have seen, although every man in the district who 
voted against him was ready to acknowledge that, as a represent- 
ative, he would have been honest, faithful and efficient; but 
the early opposition which he made to General Jackson in North 
Alabama has served to build up a barrier to his political suc- 
cess. 

The whig party of Alabama, upon whose list the name 
of Nicholas Davis has ever been among the first and most 
prominent, placed him upon the electoral ticket in the mem- 
orable contest between Van Buren and Harrison. Again, when 



STATE CONVENTION. 655 



Clay and Polk were candidates for the presidency, Captain 
Davis was one of the whig electors, and frequently addressed 
the people of North Alabama upon that occasion, in a zealous and 
eloquent manner, sometimes imploring them, even with tears in 
his eyes, to vote for the whig candidate ! It was a fine theme 
for this gentleman, which at once brought out all his warm and 
generous feelings, emanating from the recollections of his youth, 
and the unbounded admiration which he had ever since enter- 
tained for Henry Clay. 

His party supported him for the office of Governor of Ala- 
bama against the Honorable John Gayle, but the democratic 
party being greatly in the ascendancy, the latter prevailed over 
him. When the Honorable Reuben Chapman was nominated by 
the democratic convention for governor, the whigs again sup- 
ported Captain Davis for that office, and he was again defeated 
from the same cause. 

As a legislator, Captain Davis was exceedingly sensible and 
useful. He manifested much firmness in his opposition to the 
State Bank and its branches. He always preferred well regu- 
lated stock banks. 

Captain Davis is large and well proportioned. His eyes are 
deep blue, very expressive, and indicative of benevolence, or much 
of the ''milk of human kindness." He is a man of great energy 
of character, and is remarkable for his physical strength and in- 
dustrious habits. He has ever been a patron of the turf. His 
horses have run at New Orleans, Nashville, Mobile, and through 
the South generally. He was present at the celebrated contest 
between the horses of Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, and James 
Jackson, of North Alabama, at Huntsville. 

Captain Davis still lives at " Walnut Grove," esteemed and 
respected by all classes and parties. Many refined and intelligent 
gentlemen in Huntsville and its vicinity, and other portions of 
North Alabama, deem it their imperative, but most pleasing duty, 
to pay him two long visits every year. Often his large old log- 



656 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

house, which he erected when he first came to Alabama, and 
which he venerates so much that he would not exchange it for a 
palace, contains forty or fifty visitors at one time, who, for days 
together, are entertained by his agreeable conversation, fed from 
his abundant table, and delighted with the survey of his exten- 
sive groves, rich fields, happy negroes, fine blooded horses, and 
sleek and well formed cattle. 

Reubex Saffold was born in Wilkes county, Georgia, on the 
4th September, 1788. He received such an education as was 
usually imparted at a common academy, where he made some 

proficiency in the Latin language. He studied law with 

Paine, of Watkinsville, Clarke county, Georgia, and in that place 
he entered upon the practice of his profession. In the spring of 
1811, he married Mary Phillips, daughter of Colonel Joseph 
Phillips, then of Morgan county, Georgia, who soon after re- 
moved to the southern part of Alabama. 

Mr. Saffold, in the spring of 1813, established himself at the 
town of Jackson, situated upon the Tombigby river, then in the 
Mississippi Territory. Soon, thereafter, the Indian war broke 
out, and he at once became actively engaged in the protection 
of a suffering people and an exposed frontier. Holding 
at the time the rank of colonel in the militia, he nevertheless 
raised a company of sixty volunteers, and, as their captain, 
scoured the thickets from the mouth to the head of the Perdido 
river, upon which occasion several Indians were killed, while 
others were driven to the more remote parts of Florida. But 
before he made this tour he had been a participant, as a private, 
in the battle of Burnt Corn, and was one of those who fought 
bravely and retreated among the last. During these early times 
he was also a member of the legislature of the Mississippi Terri- 
tory at several sessions. When peace was restored he entered 
upon the practice of his profession, but in 1819 he was chosen a 
member of the convention. At the session of the legislature of 
the State of Alabama, held at Huntsville in the fall of 1819, he 



STATE CONVENTION. 657 



was elected, without opposition, one of the circuit judges, and in 
December of that year he removed to the residence at which he 
died, in the county of Dallas. 

Judge Saffold held the office of circuit judge, under various 
re-elections, with distinguished ability and honor until January, 
1832, when the legislature authorized the organization of a sep- 
arate Supreme Court. Then he was elected one of the three who 
were to constitute that court. Upon this new theatre of judicial 
labor he lost none of the high and deserved reputation which he 
had acquired in the "court below." At the January term of 
1836 Judge Lipscomb resigned the office of chief justice, and 
Judge Saffold was selected in his place. He occupied this digni- 
fied position until the spring of 1836, when he resigned it and 
bid a final adieu to the bench, having held the office of judge for 
more than sixteen years. The reports of the Supreme Court of 
Alabama are enduring memorials of his strength of mind, patient 
investigation, deep research and profound learning. Before the 
separate organization, the people of the whole State had it in 
their power to scan his acts as a circuit judge. They remember 
him to have been firm and dignified, but not austere. Wherever 
he presided entire order and decorum prevailed, and he was 
respected and admired by both clients and attorneys. Such, in- 
deed, was his reputation throughout the State, and such was the 
confidence reposed in him, that his retirement from the bench 
was a source of public regret. When Judge Henry Goldthwaite 
resigned his seat upon the bench of the Supreme Court, Gov- 
ernor Fitzpatrick tendered the vacancy to Judge Saffold, who 
declined it. 

Judge Saffold, a few years after his resignation, resumed 
the practice of the law, and pursued it with distinguished success 
until his death. His political opinions, although he never sought 
political preferment, and engaged but little in the exciting con- 
tests of the times, were well known. He was a democrat. He 
was warmly devoted to the interests of the South. The firm 

— 42 



658 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

friend of Texan independence, he rejoiced in her annexation to 
the United States. A devoted husband and father, it was his 
fortune to raise a large family, and most nobly did he discharge 
his duty to them. As a master, he was kind, merciful and just. 
He never attached himself to any church, yet he was a firm be- 
liever in the atonement, and was accustomed to express the confi- 
dent hope that he had nothing to fear beyond the grave. He died 
of apoplexy on the 15th February, 1847. He was a large man, with 
an excellent face, and an exceedingly fine forehead. No man of 
distinction has ever died in Alabama leaving behind more repu- 
tation for legal ability, and for honor, justice and probity. 

Israel Pickens was born on the 30th January, 1780, in the 
county of Mecklenburg, State of North Caroliua. He was the 
second son of Captain Samuel Pickens, a gentleman of French 
descent, who served his country in the revolutionary war against 
the British and tories in the two Carolinas. Israel Pickens re- 
ceived his academic education partly in South Carolina, but prin- 
cipally at a school in Iredell county, North Carolina, and finished 
his studies at Washington College, Pennsylvania, where he also 
completed his law education. He returned to his native State, 
established himself at Morganton in the practice of the law, lived 
there many years, and occasionally represented Burke county in 
the legislature. In 1811, he was elected to Congress from that 
district, and continued to represent it till the year 1817. He 
gave his vote for the war of 1812, and continued a firm sup- 
porter of all the prominent measures of President Madison's ad- 
ministration. Mr. Pickens removed to Alabama in 1817, and 
settled at St. Stephens, where he practiced law, and held the post 
of Register of the Land Office. 

After the death of Governor Bibb, Mr. Pickens was elected 
as his successor in 1821, and again in 1823, filling up the period 
allotted to him by the constitution. Very soon after the expira- 
tion of his last term as governor, a vacancy occurred in the Sen- 
ate of the United States by the death of Dr. Chambers, and Gov- 
ernor Pickens was appointed by the executive to fill it. A few 



STATE CONVENTION. 659 



days after his departure to Washington city, a letter was received 
at Greensboro conveying a commission for him as District Judge 
of the United States for Alabama, which he declined to accept. 
In the fall of 1826 he resigned his seat in the Senate and returned 
home, in consequence of a serious affection of the lungs. He died 
in the Island of Cuba on the 24th April, 1827, at the early age of 
forty-seven years. 

Governor Pickens was six feet high, very slender and erect, 
with a fair complexion and blue eyes. In all the attributes of 
a moral nature he was, indeed, a remarkable man. His manners 
were easy, affable and kind — his temper mild, amiable and always 
the same. Benevolence was a predominant trait in his charac- 
ter. He had a finished education and talents of a high order — 
more solid than brilliant. As a public man, he was very popular, 
and, although mild and gentle in his deportment, no one was 
firmer in the discharge of his public duties. He possessed extra- 
ordinary mechanical ingenuity, and a great fondness for mathe- 
matics, natural philosophy and astronomy. While a student un- 
der Dr. Hale, of North Carolina, he invented the lunar dial, by 
which the time of night could be ascertained by the moon. 
While a member of Congress, the celebrated Reidheifer pretended 
to have discovered the perpetual motion, and exhibited a model 
in Washington city, to the inspection ot which he invited the 
members of Congress. Mr. Pickens, with many others, at- 
tended and witnessed its performance; and being satisfied that 
there was deception in the matter, he returned the next day and 
gave it a more thorough examination. Finding the doors open, 
he entered, but there was no one within. During this second 
visit, he detected the fraud and exposed it, by inserting a card in 
the National Intelligencer, signed " A Member of Congress." 
This brought forth a bitter reply from the impostor, and a re- 
joinder from the u Member of Congress," but, in a few days, 
Reidheifer, model and all, left the city never again to return * 

* A notice of James Jackson, a member of the convention from Autauga, will be found 
near the close of this volume. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

The First Legislature of the State of Alabama — 
Governor Bibb. 

An election was held throughout the new State of Alabama 
for a governor and members of the legislature, in anti- 
Summer cipation of the admission by Congress of the State hs 
of a member of the American Union. William W. Bibb 
1819 received eight thousand three hundred and forty-two 
votes for governor, and his opponent, Marmaduke 
Williams, received seven thousand one hundred and forty. 

The General Assembly of Alabama convened at Huntsville 

on the fourth Monday in October. The House of Repre- 

1819 sentatives was composed of forty-five members, and 

Oct. James Dellet, of Monroe, was elected Speaker. The 

Senate had twenty-one members, and Thomas Bibb 

was elected President of that body. 

William W. Bibb was inaugurated as the first governor of 
the State before both houses of the legislature, in the presence of 
a large assemblage of citizens, to whom he made a handsome and 
appropriate address. He had previously presented an excellent 
message, in which he congratulated the people upon the 
Nov. 9 abundant crops which it had pleased the Almighty to 
afford them, the health which they had universally en- 
joyed, and the fortunate termination of the convention, which 
had resulted in the establishment of an excellent constitution. 
He brought to the attention of the legislature the subject of the 
liberal donations by Congress in reserving for a seminary of 
learning seventy-two sections of land — the sixteenth section in 

660 



FIRST LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA GOV. BIBB. 661 

every township for the use of schools — five per cent, of the net 
proceeds of the sales of the public lands (sold after the first of 
September, 1819) for purposes of internal improvements — and 
sixteen hundred and twenty acres of land, at the confluence of 
the Cahawba and Alabama rivers, for a seat of government. He 
reported that he had laid off the town of Cahawba, and that one 
hundred and eighty-two lots had been sold, for one hun- 
dred and twenty-three thousand eight hundred and 1819 
fifty-six dollars — one-fourth of which, received in cash, Nov. 9 
had been deposited in the Planters' and Merchants' 
Bank of Huntsville, to be expended in the erection of a tem- 
porary State-house, which was then under contract. The mes- 
sage concluded by recommending a revision of the statutes, the 
organization of the judicial department, the election of judges, 
and the appointment by law of an engineer to examine the 
rivers, who was to report in what manner their navigation might 
be improved. 

The legislature proceeded to elect two Senators of the 
United States. William R. King and John W. Walker were 
elected upon the first ballot, over Thomas D. Crabb and George 
Phillips. 

During the session of the legislature, General Jackson visited 
Huntsville with his horses, and was enthusiastically en- 
gaged in the sports of the turf, then an amusement in- Session 
dulged in by the highest classes. Colonel Howell Rose, of 1819 
a Senator from the county of Autauga, was also at 
Huntsville. Colonel Rose was then a young man of indomitable 
energy and fearless spirit, and possessed a native intellect of re- 
markable vigor and strength. He was ardent in his attachment 
to Jackson, and was the first to propose resolutions approbatory 
of his valuable services to the State performed during the late 
Creek and Seminole wars. Colonel Rose introduced joint resolu- 
tions of this character, together with one inviting the general to 
a seat within the bar both of the House and the Senate on all 



662 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

occasions when it should, be his pleasure to attend those bodies, 
which were adopted. Colonel Rose, at the head of a committee, 
waited upon Jackson, with a copy of the resolutions, to which 
the latter replied in a letter full of the liveliest gratitude. Since 
that interesting occasion Colonel Rose has from time to time 
performed valuable services to the State, as a member of the 
General Assembly. He is a wealthy citizen of the county of 
Coosa. His mind, naturally one of the richest in the country, 
and improved by self-instruction, is still vigorous and clear, 
while his agreeable eccentricity of manner, and original ideas and 
sayings, engage the attention of all who are thrown in his way. 
His colloquial powers are of a very high as well as of a very pe- 
culiar order. He delivers his views with force and energy, and is 
never at a loss for a spicy repartee. While he was addressing 
the members of the legislature, he never failed to engage their 
attention. Colonel Rose was born in North Carolina, removed 
from thence to Georgia, and emigrated to Alabama soon after the 
Creek war. 

So soon as the judicial circuits were organized, the legisla- 
ture proceeded to elect officers. Henry Hitchcock, the former 
Territorial Secretary, was elected Attorney-General over John 
S. N. Jones and D. Sullivan. Abner S. Lipscomb was elected 
Judge of the First Judicial Circuit over Harry Toulmin ; Reuben 
Saffold, Judge of the second without opposition ; Henry Y. Webb, 
Judge of the third without opposition ; Richard Ellis, Judge of 
the fourth over Beverly Hughes and John McKinley ; Clement 
C. Clay, Judge of the fifth without opposition. 

John Gayle was elected Solicitor of the First Judicial Cir- 
cuit without opposition ; Constantine Perkins, of the third, over 
Sion L. Perry ; Peter Martin, of the fourth, without opposition ; 
James Eastland, of the fifth, over James W. McClung and Pola- 
dore Nay lor. 

The legislature was exceedingly anxious to see the laws en- 
forced ; and, for that purpose, selected magistrates from among 



FIRST LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA GOV. BIBB. 663 

the most respectable and prominent men throughout the State. 
They discharged the same duties which the Judges of the County 
Courts had done previous to the adoption of the present Probate 
system, and as was the practice of Virginia. A few of those 
now selected must be mentioned merely to show the determina- 
tion of our then infant State, to give tone and dignity to the 
administration of the laws, even in inferior courts. For the 
county of Autauga, for instance, John A. Elmore, John Arm- 
strong, Robert Gaston, James Jackson and William R. Pickett 
were elected magistrates. 

General John A. Elmore, one of these justices, was a native 
of South Carolina, of the legislature of which State he had often 
been a respectable member. Not long after his removal to Ala- 
bama, he represented the county of Autauga in our legislature, 
which then sat at Cahawba. He was a man of firmness and 
much good sense, and always delivered his opinions, even in com- 
mon conversation, in a distinct and loud voice, with that candor 
and honesty which characterized his conduct through life. He 
had a commanding appearance, was large in person, and, alto- 
gether, an exceedingly tine looking man. He delighted in the 
sports of the chase, being a most successful and spirited hunter, 
and an agreeable companion in the many camp-hunts in which 
he engaged with his neighbors and friends. Towards the close 
of his life, we remember that he presented a dignified and vener- 
able appearance, and we saw him preside as chairman of several 
large and exciting meetings in the town of Montgomery during 
the days of nullification. 

James Jackson, another of these magistrates, was born in 
the county of Wilkes, Georgia. He had been a man of influ- 
ence in that region. Upon his arrival, in 1818, in the Terri- 
tory of Alabama, he immediately ranked with the leading men 
of the county of Autauga. He was elected a member of the 
State convention, and assisted to give us the excellent con- 
stitution we now have. Afterwards, Mr. Jackson was several 



664 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

times an active and influential member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives and of the Senate of the State of Alabama. He died 
the 19th July, 1832, at his residence in Autauga, within a few 
miles of that of General Elmore, who also died about that period. 
Mr. Jackson was a man for whom nature had done mu?h. Al- 
though raised upon the frontiers of Georgia, among a rude popu- 
lation, and thrown upon the world with but little means and 
still less education, he was decidedly elegant in conversation and 
polite and polished in his manners. He had the faculty of adapt- 
ing himself to all classes. In person he was of medium size, his 
face was handsome and expressive, and, when meeting a friend, 
was generally enlivened with a smile. He was a most excellent 
and liberal neighbor. Smooth and fluent in conversation, and 
conciliating in his general views, he was a most delightful fire- 
side companion. He was shrewd and sagacious, and a close and 
correct observer of human nature. 

The author, being the son of William R. Pickett, another 
of the Autauga magistrates, is relieved from the delicate task of 
portraying his character by copying the following obituary, writ- 
ten by a friend for the gazettes : 

"Colonel William Raiforcl Pickett died at his residence, in 
Autauga county, on the 20th September, 1850, aged seventy-three 
years. Colonel Pickett was born in Anson county, North Caro- 
lina, upon the Pedee river, where his parents, James Pickett and 
Martha Terry, had removed some time before the revolutionary 
war from their place of nativity, near Boiling Green, in Caroline 
county, Virginia. Their ancestors, whose extraction was Scotch, 
English and French, were among the earliest colonists of Vir- 
ginia. 

"Soon after he became of age Colonel Pickett filled the post 
of sheriff of Anson county, and was afterwards elected to the 
legislature, which sat at Raleigh, where he served for several 
years. When the federal revenue was collected by direct taxa- 
tion, he received from Mr. Madison, then President, the appoint- 



FIRST LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA GOV. BIBB. 660 

ment of assessor and collector for a large district in North Caro- 
lina, the arduous and responsible duties of which he discharged 
to the end with zeal and fidelity. 

"In the spring of 1818 he brought his family out to this 
country, and established himself as a planter and merchant in 
the present Autauga county, which then formed a portion of the 
county of Montgomery. Two years before this early period he 
had explored these southwestern wilds, in company with his 
near relative and friend, Tod Robinson, encountering dangers 
and hardships incident upon the close of a sanguinary war with 
the Creeks. 

"When the legislature of Alabama sat at Cahawba, Colonel 
Pickett took his seat in that body in 1821. In 1823 he was a 
member, and again in 1824, which term closed his duties in the 
Lower House. In 1828 he was elected to the State Senate, and 
entered that body in the fall of that year at Tuscaloosa, then 
the capital of Alabama. He was a Senator for the period of 
five years, when, in the summer of 1834, he was beaten for 
that position by Colonel Broadnax, during an exceedingly high 
state of party excitement, the election turning solely upon 
party grounds, and many of his old friends voting against him 
with much reluctance. In his legislative career, he was an active 
and very influential member, and was the originator of many 
salutary laws, some of which are still in force. In the meantime, 
he was three times placed upon the democratic electoral ticket 
for President and Vice-President, and each time received over- 
whelming majorities. 

" He was a man of sterling honor and integrity, and, per- 
haps, no one ever surpassed him in disinterested benevolence and 
charity, for he not only supported the poor and destitute around 
him, but freely dispensed to those upon the highway. In person, 
he was large, erect and commanding, with a face beaming with 
intelligence, a forehead bold and lofty, and eyes brilliant and ex- 
pressive, to the last moments of his existence. He was peculiarly 



jt)6 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 



remarkable for his wit and originality, and the risible faculties 
of more men have been aroused, while in his company, than in 
that of almost any other person. And even to this day, in North 
Carolina, though thirty-two years have transpired since he left 
that State, his original sayings and anecdotes are often repeated. 
No man ever received more attention, during his protracted 
illness, from those in his immediate neighborhood, who deeply 
mourn his departure from their midst. Persons from all parts of 
the country visited him in his affliction." 

The legislature of Alabama, during its session at Huntsville, 
enacted many salutary laws, and judiciously arranged the dis- 
tricts. Six new counties were established, and were added to 

those already organized. They were Greene, Jefferson, 
Session Perry, Henry, Wilcox and Butler. Wilcox was named 
of 1819 in honor of the lieutenant, who, in 1814, was killed by 

the Indians upon the Alabama river, as we have seen, 
and Butler in memory of the captain, who was also killed by the 
Indians, near Fort Dale, on the 20th March, 1818. The legisla- 
ture adjourned on the 17th December, 1819.* 

The land offices at Milledgeville and Huntsville were in active 

operation. Extensive surveys had been completed, 
1819-20 sales had been everywhere proclaimed, and thousands 

of eager purchasers flocked into the country from every 
Atlantic and Western State. Never before or since,* did the pop- 
ulation of any State so rapidly increase as that of Alabama from 
the period of 1820 until 1830. 

No sooner had the flourishing State of Alabama been 
thoroughly organized, than the citizens were called upon to 
mourn the death of their first governor. Riding in the forest 
one day, the horse of Governor Bibb fell with him to the ground, 
and he then received an injury from which he never recovered. 
He died at his residence, in the county of Autauga, in July, 1820, 
in the fortieth year of his age — calm, collected, peaceful — sur- 
rounded by numerous friends and relations. 

* State Archives. 



FIRST LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA — GOV. BIBB. 667 

Governor Bibb was five feet ten inches in height, with an 
erect but delicate frame. He was exceedingly easy and graceful 
in his bearing. His interesting face bore the marks of deep 
thought and great intelligence. His eyes, of a dark color, 
were mild, yet expressive. Whether thrown into the company 
of the rude or the refined, his language was pure and chaste. 
No one ever lived, either in Georgia or Alabama, who was treated 
with a greater degree of respect by all classes. This was owing 
to his high moral character, unsurpassed honor, excellent judg- 
ment, and a very high order of talents. Entirely free from that 
dogmatism and those patronizing airs which characterize many 
of our distinguished men, he invariably treated the opinions of 
the humblest citizen with courtesy and respect. He was, how- 
ever, a man of firmness, swaying the minds of men with great 
success, and governing by seeming to obey. 

In all the stations which he filled, Governor Bibb was emi- 
nently successful. When quite a young man his skill and atten- 
tion as a physician, in the then flourishing town of Petersburg, 
Georgia, secured tor him an extensive practice. He next went 
into the legislature from Elbert county, and, serving four years 
in that body, acquired a popularity rarely attained by one of his 
age. At the early age of twenty-five he was elected to Congress 
under the General Ticket System, by a vote so large as to leave 
no doubt but that he was a great favorite with the people. He 
immediately became a leading member of the Lower House of the 
National Legislature — was an able and fearless advocate of the 
war of 1812, and a conscientious supporter of the administration 
of Madison. His contemporaries, at his first election, were Boil- 
ing Hall, George M. Troup and Howell Cobb. He had not been 
long in Congress before his popularity caused him to come within 
a few votes of being elected to the office of Speaker of the House. 
Afterwards the legislature of Georgia elected him to the Senate 
of the United States. He was thus a member of Congress from 
1806 until 1816, when, as we have seen in the preceding pages, 



668 HISTORY OF ALABAMA. 

he was appointed by the President, Governor of Alabama Terri- 
tory, and was afterwards elected by the people Governor of the 
State of Alabama. In reference to his Congressional career, we 
have often heard, from the lips of many of his distinguished con- 
temporaries, that the practical order of his mind, the wisdom of 
his views, and the peculiar music of his voice, contributed to 
render him one of the most attractive and effective of speakers. 

When Governor Bibb first established himself as a physician 
he married Mary, only daughter of Colonel Holm an Freeman, of 
revolutionary memory, and then a citizen of Wilkes county. She 
was one of the most beautiful and accomplished ladies of her 
day, and has ever been esteemed and admired by the early inhab- 
itants of Alabama. She is now residing in the county of Dallas, 
in the enjoyment of fine health. Governor Bibb left two chil- 
dren by this lady — a son and a daughter. The latter, the late 
Mrs. Alfred V. Scott, who died some years ago, was much like 
her father in the mildness of her disposition, the grace and ease 
of her manners, and the intellectual beauty of her face. 

After the death of Governor Bibb his brother, Thomas Bibb, 
who was President of the Senate, became the acting governor. 
He was a man of strong mind and indomitable energy. 

In the preceding pages we have alluded to the mother of 
Governor Bibb. She was one of the most remarkable women 
we ever knew, for energy, decision, and superior sense. When 
Captain Bibb, her husband, died, he left her with eight children, 
and an estate much embarrassed by debt. Benajah, the ninth 
child, was boin a few months after the death of his father. Mrs. 
Bibb worked the estate out of debt — educated her children, and 
lived to see them all in affluence, and many of them enjoying 
offices of honor and profit. She was known to the early inhabi- 
tants of Alabama, by whom she was much esteemed, as Mrs. 
Barnett, having married a gentleman of that name. Thomas 
Bibb resembled his mother more than any of the children, in the 
native strength of his mind and the energy of his character. 



FIRST LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA GOV. BIBB. 669 

The memory of Governor William Wyatt Bibb is preserved in 
the name of a county in Georgia, and one in Alabama. 

But here we lay down our pen. The early history of Ala- 
bama, as far as it rests in our hands, is ended, and our task is 
accomplished. To some other person, fonder than we are of the 
dry details of State legislation and fierce party spirit, we leave 
the task of bringing the history down to a later period. 



THE END. 






IE N 'I 














































































-. \ 




























































































































































































. 



